Maybe There is a Starting Point

When writing, it would be a good thing if the writer had some of the virtue being written about, but at the outset, let me admit that the Biblical value of true humility eludes me...yet it is vital toward achieving civility in our relationships. However, it remains an aspiration to be pursued, not a skill that has been mastered.

When reading the account of the history of Israel & Judah, I'm taken by the number of references to the king and people either "humbling themselves before God"...or...refusing to "humble themselves before God". To humble ourselves is to place ourselves in the position of enjoying the love, grace, and forgiveness of God. It is also to enjoy the relaxed posture of understanding that there can only be one God...and I am not him! To refuse to humble ourselves is to assume a false "godlike" posture of competing with the only true and living God, which can only alienate us from His great love and grace (see Proverbs 6:16-19), as well as from other people.

So what does this have to do with moving toward a more civil discourse, especially with those with whom we may have disagreements? True humility, while not being an absence of conviction, philosophy, opinion, or disagreement, takes the posture that maybe, just maybe I and those of my own particular political/philosophical party might just be incorrect (at least once in a while) and that (gasp!) those of another opposing political/philosophical party might just have truth that we would do well to listen to and ponder. Humbling ourselves before God and others will help deliver us from dismissing and demonizing those with voices dissonant from ours. Humility will enable us to speak truth with a graciousness that will make that truth attractive to those who receive it.

It's a good place to begin.

Spotting the Spin

One of the readers of the last post mentioned the word "slanted" in referring to the way information is disseminated and that got me thinking about the reality that not only do we need to check out the truthfulness of the information that is published, we must recognize that truth can be "spun" to advance an agenda or make another person look bad. Let me see if I can give an example... ...A couple of years ago, a popular news source reported that during the administration of the current administration gasoline prices had risen to near-record levels. That statement was true. However, it would have been equally true to report that during the curernt administration gasoline prices had risen to near the record levels reached during the administration of the former administration. It would also have been just as true to report that gasoline prices had risen to near record levels during the past 2 years. Do you see the point? Each of the above statements is true, but the way they are crafted can serve to simply give information, advance an agenda, or make someone look bad. The Bible has a term for learning to "spot the spin". That term is "discernment". At no time do we need discernment more than when we are reading or viewing those who play to our particular frame of reference politically and socially. Maybe more on that another time, but for now it is enough that we develop the practice of discernment.

At The Very Least...

It has been an embarrassingly long time since the last entry in this blog - two years! However, judging from what I see, read, and hear, the level of public discourse over critical issues doesn't seem to be getting more civil, so I've decided to resurrect this blog in the hopes of shedding a bit of light, instead of generating heat, in an environment that is already generating far more heat than light. Ready for a "blinding flash of the obvious"? Politicians and news sources of all sociopolitical leanings tend to not quite give all the information concerning an issue...especially if that information would tend to disagree with the agenda being promoted. So...before passing on stories as "fact" (let alone believing them), at the very least we need to take some time and invest some effort in discerning the complete truth, in so far as humanly possible, of that story. If accurate information is indispensable in making informed decisions, and if it is true that "the truth will set you free", it is incumbent upon us to verify the facts to the best of our ability. This is especially true if we claim to be followers of the One who said, "I am the truth". Fortunately, we have tools at our fingertips to make this task easier. May I humbly advocate making use of several on-line "fact-checking" websites (for comparison purposes)in an attempt to separate fact from "urban legend"? There are any number of such on-line sites (sites available on request). Check it out! Here's to the quest for truth.