Hardship reveals more than it forms. It peels away the crafted veneer we show the world, leaving us exposed. Day by day, moment by moment, hard times eat away at the face we show the world. In the end, they leave you baring all before strangers and friends alike.
You need not fear this revealing. Fear not. More than anything else hardship teaches you about yourself. It shows you exactly who you are. It leaves you nowhere to hide. Hardship forces you to take stock of your inward life and face up to what you see.
You may be right and justified in your position. How you communicate and treat others is more important. Thrashing someone online who doesn’t share your views tells the world more about the state of your heart than theirs.
Public shaming may be all the rage these days, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea or commendable activity. It is far more likely to make you look like a jerk than change their mind. In fact, it’s more likely to turn people off to your view completely.
Wouldn’t asking questions and seeking to understand lead to a more productive outcome? Wouldn’t knowledge of all the facts before weighing in help you know what to say and how to say it? Wouldn’t showing an ounce of humility and concern for someone other than yourself go farther than pride and selfishness?
One of the beauties of living in America has always been the true definition of tolerance. I say the true definition because the word can be hijacked. Tolerance is in the lifeblood of the American experiment. No other place guarantees you the right to believe anything, to hold any view and do so without the fear of mistreatment for it.
This is where we’ve taken a dark turn. Tolerating diverging viewpoints has morphed. It now means not holding a view different from the elites. Whatever they say goes and you better not express a counter view. That’s not tolerance. It’s a bastardizing of it. True tolerance is being able to respect and love someone with a different view. That doesn’t mean you can’t discuss and even debate the view. It means you do so while extending them dignity and respect. In short, it means you don’t attack them for holding a diverging opinion. Have the conversation, but don’t engage in character assignation or attack.
As neighbors receive riches instead of stitches for their snitching on one another, we’ve crossed a dangerous line. We’re becoming something very dark and sinister. We’re losing the spirit that’s always made us Americans. A spirit that’s always understood and defended the right of someone to say something you completely disagree with.
What’s far worse is that many Christians forget there is immense freedom in Christ on matters all across the spectrum. We ought to avoid casting stones at one another over these issues, glasshouses and all.
I admit that I’ve struggled with this as the reality of this government-imposed shutdown has set in. I’ve struggled at times to understand why others didn’t see things my way, why they haven’t held my position on how to respond. I haven’t taken to the interwebs to express my disagreement, but whether it goes on in my heart or on the net makes little difference in the grand scheme.
In the end, this virus and our nation’s response to it continue to teach me important lessons. Lessons I need to hear again and again. The most important of which is that each person must make their own call. Each person is free to hold whatever position they would like, and I can’t judge them for it. Doing so says far more about my heart than theirs.