Us or them

I have friends on both sides of the political situation in the States. That means I do not just get one side of the story. I read some posts on social media that try to convince me that everyone in one party is evil; and then there are other posts which suggest everyone in the opposite party is evil. Ugh! Is everyone evil in the States?

I realise that social media does not speak for everyone, but what it does seem to suggest is that each person is either us or them.

As I sit back and shake my head at the polarisation, I realise this is taking place in other situations too. As Christ lovers we should be those who work to break down barriers, not put them up.

There are several ways to do this, but the main idea is the need to step outside of our little bubbles. We love those who agree with us, and of course we need to spend time with them, but how about those who have different ideas? I currently attend a multi racial church, and although I have several friends who are like me, I am working hard to connect with those from other cultures. After the service is a good time to speak to new people, different people, people I would not normally connect with.

There are also several Christians in the community where I live. Some are very pro Trump, anti-vaccinations and pro all things in that camp. That is not me, but I can be friends with these guys, I can go out for coffee with them, I can work with them in the community to share the Lord.

There are also those who are not a part of the church community. I have joined a pickleball club and found some great friends there. Some want to throw out the church alongside Trump, because they consider them connected. That makes me sad, but I am so glad that I am friends with them. Others think that the church is irrelevant. It is a good place for me to be.

I am prayerfully looking into ways of being involved in helping the poor. I have been moved afresh by the story of the good Samaritan – he didn’t just throw money at the situation, he got involved. Then he used his money to bring a solution.

That’s not the only thing that is interesting in this parable. The first two people who saw the man lying bleeding by the side of the road, were busy with their ministry. They had a Bible study to lead, a prayer service to conduct. They were serving the Lord in some capacity and considered that what they were doing was more important than stopping to help a man lying by the side of the road.

I saw a man by the side of the road once. I was a visiting speaker at a school in Ghana, and one of the leaders had very kindly taken me shopping. This man lying on the side of the road had not been beaten by robbers, he had drunk too much the night before – or that is what the person with me said. The man in the road was naked, and we were both embarrassed. My friend suggested that he had gambled everything away. He certainly would have understood the situation better than me, because he lived there. But to this day I regret not at least buying something to cover him up, until he came back to himself. I can talk about it, I can teach about it, but can I live it?

The truth is that I don’t think quick enough. At the time I was too embarrassed to do anything. I remember giving to someone begging on the streets in Vancouver and then coming back a few minutes later to see that he had spent the money on cigarettes. Not that there’s anything wrong with buying something that helps you, but I really want to do something to solve the problem rather than just alleviating it for a few minutes.

Now I recognise the value of  giving to ministries that are working to help those on the streets, rather than giving to someone who is begging from me.

Clearly, I don’t have all the answers. There shouldn’t be them, those who don’t have a home, and us, those who do. But I have yet to successfully bridge that gap.

I am trying to bridge that gap, though, both in that situation and in others that I have mentioned. In the past political affiliation did not seem so important. But now we can post these little memes on social media, that we naively think will get someone to change their minds, and come over to our way of thinking. I’m not going to reject those who think differently to me, but I will be careful what I talk to them about.

Sometimes we can make more friends by listening to them. Let’s be open to hearing what others have to say. Learn about other cultures, other political parties, other points of view. And recognise that we are all us. We are all people that God loves.