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blogging, culture, diversity, IB, love, multiculturalism, opinion, politics, social justice, tolerance
Love this little meme. A huge part of my soul is already there, and that is the truth on one spiritual level, when it comes to a myriad of petty issues. All is vanity really, people’s ideologies, politics, culture, appearances, past issues.
One way we can do that is to deal with people as individuals, as made in the image of God, and to perceive them as they really are beneath the surface. My dad used to say, “shrink your world down,” because the personal is so NOT political.
Deal with people’s needs as they present themselves on an individual level, and not as if they were members of a group of distant avatars or dehumanizing labels or tribal identities. The world really tries to erase that truth and in our march towards diversity, multiculutralism, a global economy, people inadvertently become more like herds of sheep, members of a group lost somewhere in all these tribal identities.
The bigger our tribe, the more invisible people actually become.
So that’s one part of the story. The other part of the story is doggone it all, we still need some conformity here, some shared values, some cooperation. We’re going to all need to drive on the right side of the road. “I don’t think, speak, look, or act like you, and so I so choose to drive on the left,” just ain’t going to cut it. In fact, genuine love is going to make sure we take your keys away.
I love the idealism of our faith, the spiritual goals, if you will. “Aim for the stars and if you fail at least you’ll be close to the moon.” The problem arises when we become so open-minded and tolerant our brains done fell out and all pragmatism flees down the back fire escape.
Loving our neighbor does not amount to embracing, snuggling up to, or tolerating evil. Like the professional homeless who bring in drugs and prey on our young people creating the demand, and providing the supply here, need to be stopped. Like convicted sex offenders who have served their time should not be persecuted, but that does not mean we now set them up in housing among single mothers with small children.
Those are both true stories by the way, stories I’ve been forced to watch play out over and over again.
Like, I don’t “hate” the practicing addicts on my street because they don’t “think like I do” or “pray like I do,” they concern me because they steal people’s stuff, prowl cars, and play Russian roulette in the middle of the night, because they just aren’t in their right minds.
And so little bleeding heart, extra tolerant, Christian that I am, often find myself in the awkward position of trying so desperately to proclaim, listen up, don’t dismiss me, don’t erase me, don’t tuck me behind some kind of label as if I’m just a hater or something. There is wisdom operating here and experience, and compassion for people, and it compels me to point out that societal ills are often complex, and that love is multifaceted, and if one genuinely wants to make the world a better place, one doesn’t seek out quick fixes and feel good solutions.
Because when we love that way all we really love is ourselves.
See, there's this thing called biology... 
Love the sentiment behind this post IB and your last paragraph about love being multifaceted and how quick fixes and feel good solutions really are not at all about helping someone.
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Thanks, Tricia. There’s a big cry for SJ these days and one problem is that it demands justice like now or perhaps yesterday, and there is just nothing in life that can fixed that quickly. In fact, when we try to fix things quickly,we usually diagnose the problem wrong and prescribe a solution that will make things worse.
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Your very last sentence either modifies and clarifies the previous sentences, or implies we are inherently selfish. Loving ourselves doesn’t automatically mean loving Christ, a prerequisite for truly unselfish loving of others. sometimes it’s cultural shorthand for willfulness. But I think that, based on what you have written in the past, your last sentence means that when we love others we are blessed.
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We really are inherently selfish. And when we love people the way we want to love them, rather then in a way that is good for them, we are being selfish.
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Okay, I get it now. We can love our spouse the way WE want, or the way THEY want. The latter spells love, the former divorce.
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LOL! Yes, it’s a bit like that.
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This is awesome
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Loving our neighbors is soooooi easy doncha know, the ones 6000 miles away who we can’t touch; it’s my neighbors who are 10 feet from us that test our mettle eh?
‘Love thy neighbor as thyself,’ proves the Lotd’s word piercing and correct. Oh how they boast of ‘lawkeeping’ Have missed the boat.
But still we see the goal, the ideal, and One who bears with ya.
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“And so little bleeding heart, extra tolerant, Christian that I am, often find myself in the awkward position of trying so desperately to proclaim, listen up, don’t dismiss me, don’t erase me, don’t tuck me behind some kind of label as if I’m just a hater or something.”
Well said. It seems a lot of us evangelical Christians don’t want to associate ourselves with “bleeding heart, extra tolerant…” but that is an important dynamic in actually following Christ. The mistake is in assuming this means passive, insecure, fearful, compromising who we are to just get along. The last part of your statement is the necessary assertive side. While we do want to get along what we have to say matters because we matter as much as anyone else. And love also means honor and respectful dialogue and great courage to confront. As you mentioned in the post, there is actual objective right and wrong, otherwise the whole idea of justice would be nonsensical.
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