There was a moment this summer when my family was gleefully cruising the Mediterranean on a beautiful, populated boat. It was absolutely delightful. Beautiful seas… scrumptious, indigenous foods… and sweet interactions with people all across the world.
Time in the cabin was intentionally minimal, but in a moment of downtime, we turned on the TV to get a brief glimpse of what was happening outside our very comfortable vacation bubble. We had 3 news stations to choose from: the BBC, FOX News and MSNBC. (Lucky us.)
What happened next was slightly astonishing in my opinion. And allow me a brief introductory caveat: please don’t take this as support for one party over another or for one candidate over another; it’s not. It would be naive of us to suggest only one party has cornered the market on such behavior.
It was prime time. The station we had tuned into had 4 of their most noted hosts manning the desk. They proceeded to have a serious, in depth discussion on political ideology… on how they were “thinkers”… they like to analyze… they have “complex” thoughts. They then juxtaposed themselves vs. the other party… the other party is so “simple”… not only are they “simple,” but “we use adjectives,” they are reduced to merely nouns and verbs… they don’t develop thoughts like we do…
Oh my.
I sat there, listening intently, not because I thought I was witness to a moment of journalistic brilliance, but more because I couldn’t believe the audacity of those with a mic in front of them. They had an entire conversation conveying their perceived intellectual and ideological superiority.
And just like that I thought, “And you want more people to think like you?”
Insults and praise can’t come out of the same mouth. It makes neither effective.
Friends, right now there are a lot of “now what’s.” And with two candidates who each had strong perceived negatives, those “now what’s” are all over the place… should we fight? … dig in? … move to the middle? … resist the more extreme policy efforts? … compromise? … offer an olive branch? …what?
But let me suggest a “now what” that I think best applies to all…
At the core of Judeo-Christian values is the Imago Dei. It’s the Latin translation of the “Image of God” and the fundamental teaching that humans were created in God’s image. That means that there’s a part of each of us that reflects God’s nature, that we have some kind of likeness to Him.
Don’t let me act as if I fully, completely understand it and how it applies, but what I do know is that each of us has it… each of us was created in that image…
That then includes Donald Trump. Kamala Harris. And all those loud people with the mics in front of them.
That includes each of us now. It includes the people who are hurting. The people who are celebrating. And the people who are confused, don’t care or none of the above.
It includes all the people who don’t think like us — even if the issue is one we’ve concluded is a moral one.
The best “now what” in my semi-humble opinion has nothing to do with digging in or compromising or proclaiming moral superiority on TV. The best “now what” — the wisest “now what” — would be challenging ourselves to see other people — especially those we don’t like or understand — but to see them as just as equally, just as masterfully, created in the image of God.
Let us ask ourselves: am I treating that person as if they were created in God’s image just as much as I am?
If I was, what would I do different? Would I listen more? Would I honor? Would I stop looking down upon them?
Such a “now what” makes us kinder. It makes hate harder. And it makes wisdom more prevalent immediately.
Respectfully…
AR