I got on Facebook/twitter last night. Which is when most of my friends in the states were posting things about either Cory Monteith or the Zimmerman verdict. Social media is an interesting part of life today. There are a lot of times where I want to delete my Facebook and all the rest because they seem like major distractions in life. For me, they often serve as a poor substitute for a real conversation with friends I should be making valuable real contact with. But as I was scrolling through my timeline yesterday I was really struck by a thought. So today's blog is about that and not so much about Africa. It is all interwoven I suppose because I would not have had this thought in the States most likely.
Let me preface this by saying that this post is NOT about the Zimmerman trial. I did not follow it in the states. I didn't follow it here. That is kind of the point. I have little to no legal knowledge. I have never used a gun for anything other than some targets in the backyard. I have never had someone openly discriminate against me based off of my race. I have very little insight into the case, or even the basic facts of the case. Which was helpful in provoking the thoughts I had yesterday.
I have always considered myself to be relatively open minded. I have always liked being friends with a lot of different types of people. At different points in my life that has been more difficult than others. Sometimes your circumstances put you in a place where most of your community is pretty similar. Or at least like minded in general. However scrolling through my newsfeed yesterday I was struck by the collection of "friends" I have gathered. They are quite the varied bunch. And I am extremely grateful for that.
I have friends who are a lot like me. They grew up in a small rural town in the south. In places where segregation is legally over but by the true standard of integration far from ended. Some of my friends from those towns are perfectly ok with that. Some of them hate it. Some of them stayed and will raise their children in that same town that will likely remain the same their whole lives. Some of them moved as far from that as they can. I am grateful to know all of those people.
I have friends who grew up on the opposite side of that image. Whose skin color is different. Their school was likely as "integrated" as mine was. But looked quite a bit different. Some of those friends are angry about it. Some of those friends are indifferent about it. Some of those friends are working to change it. I am grateful to know all of those people.
I have friends who are hip. I have friends who move to cool places and do cool things. I have friends who are passionate about the outdoors and all the wonders it holds for us. Some of them are grown ups in the physical sense but have the heart and sense of wonder of a child. Some of those friends are risk takers with little thought of consequences. I have friends who are passionate about taking care of the beautiful land we were given. Some of them honor the one who created it. Some of them honor the creation itself. I am grateful to know all of those people.
I have friends who are political. I have friends who are deeply conservative on social issues. Some of those it stems from a belief that the people of faith should be taking care of the poor, not the leadership. Some of those friends it comes from a belief that their money is theirs to use, not a power's. Some of my friends are fervently liberal on social issues. Some are that way because of their faith. Some are that way because of money. Some of my friends are half and half. Some of my friends have changed their political affiliation as they have become adults. Some are staunch in their belief that their way is right and will likely never change in that. I am grateful to know all of those people.
I have friends who believe the same way that I do. I have friends who believe in nothing. I have friends who will say their beliefs are the same as mine but in reality it affects them in a way that is different from me. I have friends who believe vastly different from me and would gladly argue themselves blue over why my beliefs are wrong. I am grateful to know all of those people.
The point of this is to say that as I was scrolling through reading the reactions of people to the Zimmerman verdict I was struck deeply at the variety of response in my timeline. It happened before with Prop 8. But I was struck with the thought of "I am grateful to know all of those people," every time I read someone's post. I honestly believe I can learn more about myself and a Father who loves all people, from knowing people who are different from me. There are a lot of people who think differently from me, whose opinions are invaluable to me.
The African part of this comes into play in that Facebook and twitter were pretty much my only source of information about the trial. And I was thinking about how multi sided the story really is. Just based off of the reactions of the 1,000 ish people I know. Imagine how varied they are across the US. Then imagine how varied they are across the world. Take a moment and think about how my understanding of the trial would have been different if I were only friends with one group of those people. If I were only friends with the older relatives in my family. Or the socially conservative young activists. Or the socially liberal young activists. How poorly would I understand the complexity of the human spirit when it encounters a situation that questions "What is just?" if I were just friends with one type of person?
So all of this babbling to say, look at yourself. Have you created your community to be people who are all the same? I'm not saying that you should open your heart and mind to believe in every different theory and opinion. That will only make you confused and unreliable. But I am saying you should open your ears to hear the other opinions. Let an understanding of the "opposite side" deepen your understanding of a situation. You don't have to agree with them. Just get to know them. I promise it will change your perspective. Someone once told me that they believed that every single person should live in a place radically different from where they spent their life. That it would change the way they looked at the children of faith forever. Having spent a month in a place that has swept me up in its story, I understand what he meant. The Father loves all people. He loves them in a way that is far more perfect than we do.
There are many things about this post that will likely sound ignorant, or idealistic. I'm self aware enough to know that at some point in my life I will probably disagree with what I wrote here. However that is kind of the point. I hope that I am always meeting people and having discussions that remove bits of ignorance from my life, and insert a view closer to how the Father sees us.
Let me preface this by saying that this post is NOT about the Zimmerman trial. I did not follow it in the states. I didn't follow it here. That is kind of the point. I have little to no legal knowledge. I have never used a gun for anything other than some targets in the backyard. I have never had someone openly discriminate against me based off of my race. I have very little insight into the case, or even the basic facts of the case. Which was helpful in provoking the thoughts I had yesterday.
I have always considered myself to be relatively open minded. I have always liked being friends with a lot of different types of people. At different points in my life that has been more difficult than others. Sometimes your circumstances put you in a place where most of your community is pretty similar. Or at least like minded in general. However scrolling through my newsfeed yesterday I was struck by the collection of "friends" I have gathered. They are quite the varied bunch. And I am extremely grateful for that.
I have friends who are a lot like me. They grew up in a small rural town in the south. In places where segregation is legally over but by the true standard of integration far from ended. Some of my friends from those towns are perfectly ok with that. Some of them hate it. Some of them stayed and will raise their children in that same town that will likely remain the same their whole lives. Some of them moved as far from that as they can. I am grateful to know all of those people.
I have friends who grew up on the opposite side of that image. Whose skin color is different. Their school was likely as "integrated" as mine was. But looked quite a bit different. Some of those friends are angry about it. Some of those friends are indifferent about it. Some of those friends are working to change it. I am grateful to know all of those people.
I have friends who are hip. I have friends who move to cool places and do cool things. I have friends who are passionate about the outdoors and all the wonders it holds for us. Some of them are grown ups in the physical sense but have the heart and sense of wonder of a child. Some of those friends are risk takers with little thought of consequences. I have friends who are passionate about taking care of the beautiful land we were given. Some of them honor the one who created it. Some of them honor the creation itself. I am grateful to know all of those people.
I have friends who are political. I have friends who are deeply conservative on social issues. Some of those it stems from a belief that the people of faith should be taking care of the poor, not the leadership. Some of those friends it comes from a belief that their money is theirs to use, not a power's. Some of my friends are fervently liberal on social issues. Some are that way because of their faith. Some are that way because of money. Some of my friends are half and half. Some of my friends have changed their political affiliation as they have become adults. Some are staunch in their belief that their way is right and will likely never change in that. I am grateful to know all of those people.
I have friends who believe the same way that I do. I have friends who believe in nothing. I have friends who will say their beliefs are the same as mine but in reality it affects them in a way that is different from me. I have friends who believe vastly different from me and would gladly argue themselves blue over why my beliefs are wrong. I am grateful to know all of those people.
The point of this is to say that as I was scrolling through reading the reactions of people to the Zimmerman verdict I was struck deeply at the variety of response in my timeline. It happened before with Prop 8. But I was struck with the thought of "I am grateful to know all of those people," every time I read someone's post. I honestly believe I can learn more about myself and a Father who loves all people, from knowing people who are different from me. There are a lot of people who think differently from me, whose opinions are invaluable to me.
The African part of this comes into play in that Facebook and twitter were pretty much my only source of information about the trial. And I was thinking about how multi sided the story really is. Just based off of the reactions of the 1,000 ish people I know. Imagine how varied they are across the US. Then imagine how varied they are across the world. Take a moment and think about how my understanding of the trial would have been different if I were only friends with one group of those people. If I were only friends with the older relatives in my family. Or the socially conservative young activists. Or the socially liberal young activists. How poorly would I understand the complexity of the human spirit when it encounters a situation that questions "What is just?" if I were just friends with one type of person?
So all of this babbling to say, look at yourself. Have you created your community to be people who are all the same? I'm not saying that you should open your heart and mind to believe in every different theory and opinion. That will only make you confused and unreliable. But I am saying you should open your ears to hear the other opinions. Let an understanding of the "opposite side" deepen your understanding of a situation. You don't have to agree with them. Just get to know them. I promise it will change your perspective. Someone once told me that they believed that every single person should live in a place radically different from where they spent their life. That it would change the way they looked at the children of faith forever. Having spent a month in a place that has swept me up in its story, I understand what he meant. The Father loves all people. He loves them in a way that is far more perfect than we do.
There are many things about this post that will likely sound ignorant, or idealistic. I'm self aware enough to know that at some point in my life I will probably disagree with what I wrote here. However that is kind of the point. I hope that I am always meeting people and having discussions that remove bits of ignorance from my life, and insert a view closer to how the Father sees us.
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