A Reminder
“What we need in the United States is not division, what we need in the United States is not hatred, what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black” – Bobby Kennedy
This quote stood out to me throughout this entire speech. For context, Bobby said this during a speech after learning that Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, TN. Bobby and Dr. King knew and worked together on numerous occasions, and this knowledge hit close to home for Bobby. Something to note is that there were many riots throughout the country when Dr. King was killed, but there wasn’t one where Bobby made this speech.
I began to think and reflect after reading this quote.
Today, in the year 2021, it feels like there is so much division on just about every single thing you can think of, and it hurts. It makes me nervous. This division seems to get deeper and deeper by the day.
There isn’t much listening to one another and trying to see the other point of view. Everything seems too loud, and many people and voices can’t be heard.
Some may claim to know and show love, but many times they lack love. Without love, you’re just noisy like a gong. [1 Corinthians 13:1]
You can love people and disagree on many things. At the same time, some things shouldn’t be up for debate. Everyone is made in God’s image and should be treated as such is not up for debate. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. And so did Jesus.
We lack boundaries in many facets of our lives, and I believe it shows. Boundaries are good for all of us, and the concept is biblically-based. Jesus had solid boundaries and maintained them. We should too.
Social media is a place where many people lack boundaries, and it shouldn’t be a place where you primarily get your news. There are so many sources out there, and I can admit that it can be challenging to decipher their intent and where they fall on the political spectrum. I urge you to speak and read from people who aren’t like you.
Conflict and disagreements will happen all the time. We, as a people, haven’t handled our conflicts well. We haven’t invited God in, and we may let our emotions get the best of us. We’ve approached our brothers and sisters in a way that harmed them more than opened their hearts and ears.
We have to invite God in. “Before we talk to people about God, we must talk to God about people” – D.L. Moody. Moody makes a great point. To talk to others, we must speak to the One who knows people. His people. We must seek God in every facet of our lives.
Live is already hard living in a broken world; let’s not add more pain. Let us add more love and peace to the world that is so desperate for it. We need each other more than ever.
We haven’t spoken with love, care, and compassion, but we can change that.
I urge you to invite God into your heart and conversations and let Him use you as a vessel. We should see the image of God in all of our brothers and sisters. They are made in the image of God.
We have more in common than we have differences. Check your heart and its posture.
“Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?” [Matthew 7: 3(1-4)]
“Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth” [1 John 3: 18 CSB]
Remember that we all yearn to be seen, heard, loved, and understood.
Until next time <3