The Power of &
I pay close attention to language. The words that we choose are powerful windows into our souls. Likewise, the language of the culture reveals the heart of a nation. Words both reveal and reform who we are.
Lately, I’ve noticed that our language is becoming more and more absolute.
All democrats / republicans are…
All members of the black / white community…
Everything is falling apart…
No one is taking this pandemic seriously…
💯
Absolutes reveal the level of despair that we as individuals and a culture are living in. When we cannot see a way to achieve what we long for, our thinking automatically moves into survival and either/or thinking. Thus the despair. Imagine all of our creative power and the endless possibilities that God has given us getting bottlenecked into two options: good or terrible horrible. You then have, at best, a 50/50 chance of stepping into the life you were made for. Doesn’t sound too promising.
People also get put into these two categories when we are in survival. Others become all good or all evil. They become either ally or adversary. They become all oppressor or all oppressed. So we lose the resource of community as well.
This thinking contributes to our inability to see reality as it is. Because we miss important data about circumstances and others, the lens through which we see the world is skewed. We are unable to see when we are actually in danger and when we are safe. We are unable to see the beauty amidst the chaos. We are unable to see (and access) the resource that can actually move us towards the future we long for.
We certainly don’t like the fact that we are an “&”. Are we not all filled with light & dark? We are both sinners & saints. We are those with faith & doubt. Life is much more simple if I am a complete failure or a brilliant success story.
I often resist the complexity and intricacies of life and relationships. It’s just easier to live in the either/or. The fact is, “&” makes things complicated. It forces me to slow down, look, and take in all the nuances of who and what is out there.
I invite you to pick up the & today and lay down the absolutes. If you are a follower of Jesus, this means living in grace & truth, shining your light and addressing your darkness, seeing everyone as divinely inspired and broken, all at the same time. I invite you to embrace the glorious complexity of this life and let your Savior be the one that actually does the saving.
