Building bridges

I’m not gonna lie, I don’t understand the reasoning behind the name change to “Gulf of America”. Doesn’t make sense to me, but perhaps Shakespeare is correct, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” What is more striking to me beyond just changing a name, is to consider what has happened and is happening in our great nation. Vast divides between social and economic classes, political ideologies, race, gender, and every other factor imaginable are a plague that infects us with ever-widening gulfs of separation. Deep distrust and disdain have become embedded in our differences and seem to be rapidly tearing us apart. There is indeed a gulf in America today, and I’m convinced that each of us is a brick that can be used for one of two different things: Building bridges or building walls.

Bridges and walls. The same raw materials can be used to build both. Steel, wood, bricks, cement, etc., but the purposes they serve are like oil and water. They’re not only different, they just don’t mix no matter how hard you try. Bridges bring people together; walls separate. Bridges connect; walls divide. Bridges provide freedom and inclusion, while walls exclude and oppress. I wrote recently in another post The wall about the anniversary of the Berlin wall coming down and how we build our own walls in life that keep others out and protect us from being honest and vulnerable with people. I think in both cases, whether it be a physical wall of separation or emotional walls of isolation the driving factor (not always, but often) is fear. Fear hijacks our primal instinct for self-preservation, and lays a foundation brick by brick, to keep “them” out and hide myself away in safety. It’s the fear of the unknown. Propaganda (http://www.prophiphop.com) says in his song Cynical, “we fear what we’re blind to”. I think that’s very true.

Whether you’re talking about gaps between nations or neighbors, if we take the time to truly get to know each other we will find that there is a common thread of humanity that runs through us all. The “us vs. them” mentality goes away when we view one another through a lens of loving our neighbor, and I think when it all boils down, that is where we find the answer to so much that is wrong in the world today. When asked what is the greatest commandment of all, Jesus said there were two that are equal…..Love God and love your neighbor. To me, these seem to be mutually dependent. Meaning, you can’t truly have one without the other. As a matter of fact, John, one of Jesus’ closest friends and followers said, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” That seems pretty straightforward to me. Loving God and loving others are inseparably bound together making one impossible without the other.

When we consider the issues of the day, whether it be global, national, local, or in our own homes, remember that on the other side of the issue stand human beings, made in the Imago Dei (image of God), worthy of love and respect. The way that we love (or don’t love) them is direct evidence of our love for God. It doesn’t matter which side of the political aisle feels more comfortable to you or which injustice happens to stir up your own anger. The choice is whether we bring division, building walls of separation, exclusion, and isolation, or we build bridges to work toward peace and unity. I’ll be the first to admit this is sometimes a huge internal struggle for me, but when I look at the life of Christ I’m convinced this is the way he showed us to live. Here are a few questions to consider:

-Who is someone that you have been viewing as a problem to fix rather than a person to love?

-How can you proactively reach out to get to know someone “different” than you rather than making generalized assumptions about them?

-What is an area in your life where you’ve been building walls and you can start building bridges instead?

Drop a comment and let me know your thoughts on this post or any of the specific questions. I’d love to hear any feedback on this, whether you agree with me or not. Honest and respectful conversation is one way we can build bridges and learn to see things from another person’s perspective.