"Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye?" -Matthew 7:3-4
"The gunfire around us makes it hard to hear. But the human voice is different from other sounds. It can be heard over noises that bury everything else. Even when it's not shouting. Even when it's just a whisper. Even the lowest whisper can be heard--over armies...when it's telling the truth" -The Interpreter
I've rarely found it in my best interest to comment on current events. When anger boils to the top, an added measure of heat is scarcely needed and most often only makes matters worse.
However, the things I've read and seen in this particular situation have inclined me to break my silence, if only in hopes that in some small measure, a faint whisper of peace can make its way through the shouts of anger and hatred.
In case you don't know, a few weeks ago Ms. Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky, made the conscious decision to decline an application for a marriage license to a gay couple applying for one. This action falls in opposition to the recent decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States. For her actions, Ms. Davis was arrested and has been in jail for the past few days.
Supporters have flocked to her side, declaring in full vigor the biblical support for their position.
Opponents have mobilized in full force against her, decrying the hypocrisy of her position in light of her life experience and the call for acceptance of love in all of its forms.
My own opinions on the matter are quite irrelevant. However, in people's furor to claim the mantel of right and lend support to their position, they have attacked Ms. Davis in a way that truly makes me quite sick.
I've seen her marriage history posted for the whole world to see.
I've seen her Twitter page blasted to the ends of the earth to be lampooned.
I've seen despicable comments about the way she looks and her "backwoods ignorance."
I must say I am shocked, even heartbroken. And to be quite frank, it is most heartbreaking to see those of my friends who claim the title "Christian" leading the charge in this attack. It tears at my heart to read and hear the comments these people are making in the name of a God whose action in history has been resurrection, taking things that are broken and wrong and breathing new life into them, restoring them to the depths of beauty for which they were created.
And yet, in our rush to be right, we've become more interested in tearing down. Those who shout from the rooftops, "Love for all," have become selective in who they would call "all." It doesn't seem Ms. Davis fits into that group.
Some say she is a hypocrite. She may be, but I know I most definitely am. Some say she is a bigot. She may be, but I know there are places in my heart that fear and mistrust of my neighbors find home. Some say she's hateful and vindictive. She may be, but I would unfortunately also find myself in a line for hateful and vindictive people more often than I wish.
Some have suggested she's only out to make a point and gain some instant celebrity status. If so, her goal has only been met because social media opponents have taken the bait. In our fear of being known and allowing our sins to be made public, we've made sure the world is aware the failings of another. In our rush to point out the sins of someone else, all we've done is point out the sins of our own hypocrisy and insecurity.
The tools of anger, hate, and violence are tried and true. Wars have been fought in the attempt for peace. Insults have been hurled for vengeance. Fights have been waged in the name of justice.
Perhaps it's time we learn to fight with a new weapon. Perhaps it's time we wrestle with a love so radical that its fruit cannot be ignored. No, I'm not suggesting we passively ignore issues and injustices and situations because we believe that to love means to be nice. Love deserves more credit than to cheapen it with such a flaccid definition.
Instead, perhaps it's time we ran towards our enemies and opponents with arms as wide as a father running down the path towards his prodigal son slumping up the driveway. Perhaps it's time we share a meal with those we most oppose. Perhaps it's time we speak words of such radical affirmation that we leave no space for hate and exclusion. Perhaps it's time that we not only open our first, but that we take those open hands and embrace those we most despise. Perhaps it's time, in our rush to "be like Jesus," that we learn to humble ourselves like a servant, even unto death, instead of waging wars built on power.
What might the world look like if we were willing to love so unconditionally that it made waves louder than any bomb ever could? What might our communities look like if we embraced our enemies so tightly that the world couldn't help but take notice? What might our relationships look like if our words were so drenched in affirmation and reconciliation that any word of hate seemed out of place?
I think that's what the Kingdom of God looks like. For love to win, it must exist for all people. It cannot come in force wrapped in violence and hatred. Hate and love cannot co-exist. The weapons of love must evolve. If God is in fact a god of resurrection and restoration, tearing down with hate cannot be a tool for fighting the injustice and oppression which so desperately demands our attention. If we are really going to claim to be a people of love, boundless love for all people, we had better stop drawing the lines around only the people who love the same people we do.
To live this kind of love is not easy. It is a lonely island upon which few find shade. To join the chorus of the crowd is an easier task. The shouting can become overwhelming and the whispers of peace may seem inaudible.
And yet, it was not in the thunder or the lightning that God spoke to Elijah. Rather, in the midst of the storm and away from the camp, God's voice spoke to the prophet in a still small whisper. And sometimes what the world really needs is simply a whisper.
So may we learn to see the work God has begun in our own lives so that we can extend it towards our neighbors. May we learn to offer confession and ask for forgiveness of our own imperfections before we rush to point out the sins of another. May we draw the lines of love so wide that no one ever finds themselves on the outside. May we learn to see in our opponents the same affection with which God so adores us. And may the God whose story has been resurrection continue to breathe new life into the broken and imperfect stories our lives are telling in this world and in our communities.
forever unfinished...
