this is a shins song called 'sleeping lessons' that, frankly, just rocks. musings about the meaning of the lyrics can be found here.
I was prompted to think about this while reading Godgrown's latest blog... how important do you think it is to try to understand where other people are coming from while engaging in the world we live in? whether we're talking politics, faith, family interactions, social issues, what have you? husband has rented more X-files and I need another helping of this delectable chicken & noodles he made, so I'll reserve my thoughts for tomorrow... but I really think the question has merit. the actor in me wants to rephrase the question as, 'how important should my audience's opinion be to me, and how much should that change my communication choices... or is it about what I have to say from my worldview, regardless of how others feel?'
happy Lord's day. everyday.
-m.y.
4 comments:
Hey, Luci I just read the Godgrown post, and I think it's an interesting question. I feel like one of the biggest barriers people have to understanding other people is when they are only surrounded by people who think like they do/look like they do. This is one of the things I like about our congregation--there is such diversity in thought about faith and how we practice our religion, but we all come together with the desire to follow Christ, even though it is acted out in different ways. I admit sometimes I am tempted to run and join others whose opinions more similarly mirror my own, and I think there is value in doing that sometimes. Sometimes I just want to be able to hear a woman talk about God's love from the pulpit, hear someone talk about how being gay is a natural and God-created thing, hear someone acknowledge that war and the death penalty and poverty are things to stand up against. Those are my own beliefs, and what I feel God is calling me to support. But I understand that people who love God and seek to do God's will with all their hearts come to very different conclusions than I do, and that's okay with me.
Even though I got out of West Texas as fast as I could, I do feel like one thing I benefited from growing up surrounded by people who I couldn't disagree with more about pretty much every social issue out there is that I have the ability to see people who don't think like me as people who are good. When your family members and friends who are good and loving and God-filled people don't come to the same conclusions as you, how can you not think that? I feel like so many barriers could be broken down if we got to know people on a human level instead of boiling down their identity to single attributes like their political or religious beliefs.
When I worked at an elementary, I showed my 6th graders this film, and I think the story is something we could all benefit from http://www.promisesproject.org/
Getting to know people stems from a desire to WANT to know them. A lot of times I think people seek out like minded individuals so as not to feel alone. However, one can miss out on so many opportunities to grow, learn and and generally get a sense of what is really going on in the world around them.
Whitney is in tune with my own thinking in that while we may come across others who do not mirror our thinking, it does not mean they are not good, or stupid, or uneducated, or anything like that. It simply means they are different! I used to think this was the end of the world (stemming from my own desire to not be rejected or alone--a natural part of the HUMAN condition--unrelated to affiliations, parties and beliefs). I don't feel so bad about disagreeing with people now...not to say that I want to perpetuate disagreements, but some things are simply a matter of preference.
Because one lives out his or her life one way and someone else does another thing, this does not equate or justify one being right and one being wrong. I do think all of those trains of thought are a tool of Satan trying to divide God's people. We're different, and it's beautiful!
Beth and Whit, thanks for writing. you gave me more to think about. Whit, the preview for that movie gave me goosebumps!
I think we have to be careful of arguments that have been perverted by "...and they want to destroy our way of life," or the idea that utilizing freedoms somehow undermines them. It keeps people arguing about each other rather than the topic itself.
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