It has been becoming more clear that we have SOLD OUR COLLECTIVE SOULS in America.
Intolerance of others is the symptom of an arrogant hubris that comes out of a desire for prestige and position... being seen as being higher than others... complete with a false sense of entitlement and superiority...
Hatred comes out of fear... the fear of knowing that we view others who are differently with disdain and that they will react badly that we do... fear that others might have within them the same malice toward others that we hold within ourselves... fear that others might do what we THINK of doing - to us... fear of being found out for the horrible intolerance we have for others not like ourselves...
Greed is central to our being... it drives our goals, makes us predators with others for "more", demands our devotion all the time and skews how we look at value - the value of other human beings and their needs put aside... it drives us to get quick and large profit at the expense of others or EVERYONE else... because nothing else matters than what WE want... MORE of everything...
Lust for Power consumes many in our culture... the overwhelming desire to be in control over others and get what we want, in order to gain in wealth or prestige/position, or to get things the way WE want them... even on the backs of others they dominate... power OVER others, rather than self-control in our own lives is the desire, and it makes us into what we have never valued in people who have abused their power or control over us...
Our nation is becoming more mean-spirited, intolerant, hateful, ruthless, greedy, bigoted (i.e. homophobic, sexist, classist, racist) than we have ever been before... it is much more overt now... more verbal... more acted upon... more demonstrated... more legislated... more normative and more accepted than ever before...
and it makes me sad, angry, frustrated... and DETERMINED to put something ELSE out there in the world around me... to expose these ways of darkness and let shine the light of love, grace, peace, justice, truth and civility with others...
Jesus taught me that in word and example.
I will strive to follow Jesus in how I am in the world.
Pastor Jamie
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