4:98 – Be A Good Human, Redux

#faithbites #faithjourney human

Setting

I often write about being a good human. This is a skill we should all have. I see comments tearing down people when someone doesn’t even know them. I recently saw a local leader say she was going to make life hell for the next two years for people elected to the city council. This doesn’t make sense to me. I understand anger, but why not direct it at the problem and not a person. In most cases, the person isn’t the problem, it’s a policy or misunderstanding.

The first, Be a Good Human #faithbites focused on training up children to love and work with others. This is more focused on adults. How can we, regardless of how we were raised, find solutions that build relationships and bonds instead of tearing each other down.

Today’s questions: How can do you react when someone doesn’t agree with you? How do you separate the person from the idea? What can you do to treat others with love and respect.

Scripture

• Proverbs 17:27-28 – Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
• Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
• Isaiah 1:17 – Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Reflection

We don’t have to agree with one another. In fact, hearty disagreement is ok. When we disagree we find better solutions to the problems we had. What is becoming more and more common is if we don’t agree on something, the person is bad. If we don’t agree on one minor thing, we disagree on everything. I saw a funny meme that said Pineapple on Pizza, yes or no. Then if you don’t agree you are the devil. Yes, it was a joke, but too often we construct our view of someone based on one point rather than the whole person.

Jesus tells us to be kind, forgiving, tenderhearted and do good. We also see in Isaiah that we should correct oppression and bring justice. This is a case where the ends don’t justify the means. We need to seek the Lord’s guidance on how to do this even if we don’t agree with a person. Once we let pain and hurt in, we lose the point of the issue, and the other person truly becomes an other and not a brother or sister.

As we close, remember that a person is more than the sum of their ideas. Work towards finding what binds us rather than what separates and divides us.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, today we pray for open minds, soft hearts, and calm tongues. Let us all be good humans to each other. Lord, when we disagree, help us to work through those disagreements. Let us find win-win solutions and if we can’t a compromise that we can live with. We ask that you protect us from falling into the trap of others being evil and the enemy. Lord, we pray all these things in your name, Amen.