Where are you standing?

We are two days removed from election day and still don't know who the next president of the United States is going to be. Crazy.

I have managed to steer clear of social media since Tuesday. My heart and soul simply cannot take it. The roller coaster of emotion is too much. Wednesday I was basically numb all day. Somber, speechless, and depressed. Still convinced the republicans (or, more precisely, Trump) is going to cheat his way to another four years. And, what's worse, the republicans claim the democrats are trying to steal the election! I don't understand how they justify voter suppression and not wanting votes counted.

Anyway... I started reading my newest book: Hide This In Your Heart by Graham Hill and Michael Frost. It's supposed to be about Scripture memorization, but already I've found it to be so much more! Here's the little blurb:

In this new resource by two leaders of the worldwide missional church movement, Scripture memorization is put to new use, helping believers in Jesus to become active partners in proclaiming and demonstrating that the Kingdom of God is living and active and good for the world.

Join Michael Frost and Graham Hill on this journey into the Bible, learn how your brain can be formed and transformed by the Scriptures, and find yourself better equipped to live and declare the good news of Jesus Christ.

I will discuss the book in full at a later time (probably), but in chapter 2 under the heading "Where You Stand Will Determine What You See" was some divinely placed wisdom for this reader. They share this story...

...A newspaper reporter was sent to Birmingham, Alabama, to report on the deaths of four little girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing on Sunday, September 15, 1963. The reporter took an unusual angle on the story, calling every minister in the city and asking them what passage of Scripture they used as the text for their sermon on the day of the bombing. Every white pastor in Birmingham was preaching from the Epistles; every black preacher was teaching on Isaiah or the Minor Prophets or Revelation. In other words, whites were studying the more abstract theology of Paul, while the black churches dwelt in the more communal, justice-focused, future-oriented sections of the Bible.

I find it amazing how pertinent this still is today. The authors continue...

Robert McAfee Brown was noted for saying, "Remember that: 1) where you stand will determine what you will see; 2) whom you stand with will determine what you hear; and 3) what you see and hear will determine what you say and how you act." He was referring to the white, middle-class church's limited understanding of poverty and racism. But Brown's maxim is true in all manner of circumstances. We can all be narrow-minded in our perspectives, and we can all be inadvertently limited in our reading of Scripture.

If our favorite verses include discussions of sin, forgiveness, redemption, and heaven but don't address justice, peacemaking, and the renewal of all things, we might have embraced a beautiful set of doctrines while overlooking other people...

Ya know... I don't know about you, but I am guilty as charged. I don't understand the far-right "conservatives" and they likely don't understand me. It's the same with Scripture. We all like to pick out our favorite verses and sections of the Bible, while not realizing the narrowness of our vision. 

Regardless of how this election works out, I've come to realize the problem is not republicans or democrats... the problem is ME! *I* need to come to grips with reality. *I* need to be better. I think we could all use a dose of that no matter where we stand. The United States is a vile and volatile place right now. It's not likely to get any better if we keep pointing the finger at 'those people over there'!

***

Philippians 2:2-4

I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind. Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own.