Death before ...
2016/11/13
I really didn't want this post to be about the election. With so much material already out there (your friends blogs, their facebook posts, people's election testimonies), I don't want this to be "just another election 2016" related post. I will make just one directly political statement. No influence based on anyone else's opinions, just my opinion, my action statement, and what I say to you: No matter the results, what really matters now is talking about what we will do now, not what happened.
The following are 3 little "mini-items" sort of like a "This American Life" style post with 3 little ones put together. Each one is a different story, context, and setting. But at the end of it, we can see the same lesson.
#1One of the things that makes up the image of coffee is that it has this thing called caffeine in it. That stuff that stimulates you and gets you awake when you need a kick starter. One of the things in specialty coffee that are like curse words is the word decaffeinated. Decaffeinated coffee is one of this subjects that if you say you like, you get looked at as if you have committed a cardinal sin. Similarly portrayed in the following shirt design that I saw being sold at a shirt stand.
But the thing about caffeine is that as much as it draws people towards coffee, it's also one of the things that deter people from coffee. Eomen are recommended to stay away from caffeine while pregnant. Some people are hit by caffeine really hard so they tend to avoid it when possible because they do not like it's effects. Some people just don't want caffeine. There can be a number of reasons why people avoid caffeinated coffee, but still would like to drink coffee. However, in a good part of the world of specialty coffee, people ignore that demographic of people. And look at them a certain way because they are "decaf people." But without knowing what their preferences are, their situations, and their choices, you make a judgement call on someone without actually knowing them. One of my favorite podcasts currently summarizes this perfectly from the cafe setting in the audio below (12:20 - 13:40).
#2It's very universal that at this point in our modern society, it is not the most universally acceptable thing to be a Christian. The following is a real conversation that I saw on my Facebook feed. From real people not just some conversation I found on the internet. I censored the identity of the people in these conversations.
I actually find it really commendable that person 1 (the person I actually know personally in this situation) is open to talking with Christians despite the fact that he is not Christian himself. Although he does not necessarily have faith in God, he does not easily condemn those who do, as opposed to person B who has a preconceived notion of Christians and their beliefs. Sadly, the image of God that he had is not the same as the image of God that we share as believers. Two people. Similar opinions about God, but two completely different attitudes about how they would approach conversations with people of faith.
#3Even the people with what looks like supposedly the hardest of hearts can have a conversation with someone they disagree with. Most recently, there was the US presidential election and the president elect now is Donald Trump. Many maybe yourself included are not happy with this result. But my third story isn't about what I think of his character, it's just an event that happened and I am here to deliver it with my own message.
One of the things that Trump vowed during his campaigning was completely reversing the work that current President Obama has done with universal health care. Many news outlets have recently started covering that Trump was backpedaling on some of his initial comments on universal health care. You can read some of the content from a WSJ article, but I have referenced the quote that I think is most telling, "On health care, Mr. Trump said a big reason for his shift from his call for an all-out repeal was the meeting at the White House with Mr. Obama, who, he said, suggested areas of the Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, to preserve. “I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” Mr. Trump said in his Trump Tower office." [WSJ].
See if you have been following the election closely, up until now getting rid of the current universal health care (or Obamacare) was one of his high priority items. Trump, who during his campaign had never budged on wanting to keep any part of Obamacare, has listened. Now he may come to decide that he wants to repeal Obamacare entirely during presidency, but what I want to hone in on is that he is listening. This the first time that he has done that publicly. Made a statement on his willingness to listen. And regardless of what you think about President-elect Trump, maybe he as well, has decided to listen.
So why did I handpick these several different stories? Because the interactions I've seen lately, whether on social media, in conversations with people, or even from myself have been examples of this. A closed mentality. A ear that hears but does not listen. Eyes that see but do not discern. Maybe it's time we open up our hearts again. To Jesus, to our circumstances, to people.
Challenge: Have a human conversation with someone. Know who they are, what their thoughts are, and why they think what they think. But most of all: listen. Listen very closely. And come to understand why they think that way. And respect them, rather than try to force change on them. Because only then will we be able to make an impact in the world.