Monday; February 12

Through the years, I have heard that there are two things “nice” people don’t discuss in public – politics and religion. Have you ever thought why that is the case? Is it because there is something unsavory about the topics? No, the answer is that these two topics tend to highlight the differences between people and are apt to create hard feelings. Now, I want to delve into this a little bit more – why would a couple of well-meaning people be afraid to discuss religious or political topics? The reason could be that, too often, the discussion is not between two well-meaning people – it is between people who are promoting their own agenda. It isn’t the topic that is creating the issue, it is the undercurrent for the discussion. Too many people aren’t interested in the exchange of information as much as they are in projecting their opinion or disparaging those who might disagree with them. Interestingly, this is nothing new. Centuries ago Matthew saw beneath the surface of a conversation initiated by one religious group and reported, “Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” (Matthew 19:3). The issue wasn’t free and open discussion – it was a “gotcha moment”.

We can restore the good natured discussion back to religion and politics when we genuinely care about the opinions of others – or maybe a more succinct truth is when we care about other people. If we want to mainstream difficult discussions we are going to have to set aside our agendas and work together to search for truth.

Think About It!

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