Left Not Right

We are in the heat of election season. Opinions and perspectives are aggressively high. Words like "they", "them", "my", "mine", "ours", take on venomous tone. Sides are taken. Debate seems to have taken a backseat. Facebook is a battleground state for the loyal. And status updates and comment chains are lengthy. Each "side" believing they are correct.

Those that lean Right often opine that the government (or in this year's case it's worded as "Obama") wants to take more money from the folks who have worked hard and earned it, and give it away to "those" who don't work and gladly want to stay in a lesser income, or poverty, and simply just take the handouts, and drink and have babies to get more.*

Those that lean Left see through a lens of social injustice and believe that the government should serve as a vehicle to help level the playing field because people in and of themselves won't. And that people like "Romney" are racist, homophobic, and want to force women to stay in the kitchen or at the very least, earn a lesser wage and not get breast cancer examinations—and certainly don't have a heart to help the less fortunate.*

I believe that this debate is a result of failure. Not the government's (although it is easy to question the application of some of its position and influence), but ours. The Church's. Mine.**

Maybe its John Lennon-like, but I believe that if we were less concerned about what was "ours" or "mine", or "theirs" and "not ours", we would live in a better world. What if we lived under the umbrella of words like hospitality, generosity, servitude, sacrifice and joy?***

Jesus said His Kingdom is not of this world. I want my focus to be out-of-THIS-world. Surely bigger than a position and a vote. I do know that I will fall short. Dreadfully short in some cases. But I want to set my heart toward this.

"And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them." - Luke 6:31

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" -  James 1:22

*Clearly these are generalizations, but a lot of folks vote through this lens. Of course, there are a lot of additional perspectives (like past success rates of government programs, or the reality of social inequalities) which form a voters decision making process. However, I think you know what I am talking about.

**I believe that our fallen, sin-influenced world is the primary impetus for this failure. So the failure of all else shouldn't be a surprise. But I do believe we have a responsibility here within it.

*** I guess some folks do. If you are one of them, thank you.

Gather No Moss

Sometimes I really think I am pretty smart. I've got over 44 years under my belt. Married. Two relatively teenaged boys. Worked for a while. Seen enough folk orate, status update and instigate that leads me to an all-to-often pious opinion of their matters. Surely with age and experience comes wisdom, but conceit, rigidity and narrow-focus can follow as well if we rest on laurels and "what we know."

Albert Einstein said, "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."

Glad life continues to put road in front of me. Winding roads with turns, and even bumps in it. And family and friends continue to show me a more invigorating, more scenic, or more efficient route. Lord, help me keep the feet churning and the wheels turning. And not to just coast.