Take the log out of my eye

As I pondered in my prayer time this morning, I asked, as always, for direction, for making me more like the One I follow, for hearing the still small voice telling me which way to go.

As I sent out the thought, “Please help me be the kind of person You want me to be,” my next thought was, “Not like so-and-so; he is so angry and bitter and unloving, I don’t want to be like that” and this flashed through my mind:

    To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18: 9–13)

Because I know people who are so bitter about the recent election that they are speaking angry, vicious, even violent words against others who feel differently. And my self-righteous, quickly banished thought was, that is not the way. Not helpful, not loving, and for Christ followers, not His way.

A very dear young person in my life said before the election, “You’ll hate me if I vote for the other side.”  I said, no, honey, I try not to hate anyone; many people who I care for very much are on the other side, including family, friends, co-workers, and church members. You can disagree without hating. And I’ve tried not to call them idiots, ignorant, deluded, stupid, uneducated…like so many have on both sides. I call them people who believe differently. And I hope they do the same for me.

The same young adult said that I “shove my opinions in others’ faces”. I really hope I haven’t come off that way. I have really been trying not to.
Throughout this presidential campaign, I have shared a great deal of information, mostly on Facebook, because I thought my friends may enjoy it, and some of them were still undecided and could use some more information. I read each of the articles and verified their source and whether they had been fact-checked. I attempted as well as I could not to share anything containing personal attacks, or anything offensive or nasty. I saw myself as a filter of information for others, hoping they too would share. I avoided writing about the other candidate’s religion, albeit having “unusual” beliefs and rituals, knowing that ALL religions are strange, and the door is open for criticism of my own as well.

I remembered the things said about the other candidate during the last election and about the previous president. I did not want to be that sort of vessel. I did not want to get into any mean-spirited debates. And most of all, if my chosen candidate lost, I did not want to become a bitter, angry person spouting things like “I’m going to Canada!” (not possible), “We should just split into two countries, Red and Blue” (not going to happen) or horrible things about our new leader. I hoped that both sides could come together to work on solving our common problems rather than fostering even more divisiveness. And if my candidate won, I hoped I would avoid gloating.

For many progressives call evangelicals “Pharisees”, hypocritical, holier-than-thou…but at times we have our own brand of self-righteousness. A Druid/Christian priest once told me, even Pagans have their fundamentalists.

And when Jesus said, “Take the log out of your own eye,” I don’t think he meant, “Tell other people to take the logs out of their eyes”, but to look inside ourselves and start working there.

Razor-Thin Line

“…I believe it is vitally important that we cast our ballots for candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel. I urge you to vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman. Vote for biblical values this November 6, and pray with me that America will remain one nation under God.”

                                                                                Billy Graham

     This was a full-page ad published in many newspapers across the country during the presidential campaigns of 2012.  The Rev. Billy Graham, now the mouthpiece for his even more conservative son, Franklin, is walking the razor-thin line between church and state, between keeping and losing the tax-exempt status afforded religious organizations for endorsing candidates for public office.

     This morning, the day before the election, I went to the office of the preschool where I work, which happens to be in a church. Just outside the office is a bulletin board, and on that bulletin board was the newspaper page with Graham’s image and words above.

     Oh, how I longed to take a sticky note and write on it, “And that’s why I’m supporting President Obama and Senator Bob Casey, for upholding Biblical values such as caring for the less fortunate, peacemaking, social justice, and stewardship of the environment.”

     It’s strange how Biblical standards can differ so much depending on our perspectives.

^“ I pray they will be one…”  John 17:21