We Will Know When We are Great!
We will all KNOW when America is truly great. We will see unity, caring for one another, respecting one another, offering help to strangers. We will know when we feel free to help our brothers and sisters come to realizations that are closer to the gospel, and we will know when other countries begin to see us a beacon of hope instead of a self centered bi-polar mess.
The again part (of MAGA) is difficult for me, while we have many GREAT Americans it is difficult to look at our past collective history and call us truly great. We are "puffed up" when we only want to present our best. We have had great moments but to be truly great we have a lot of work to do. I could get behind a hat that said Let's Make America Great (no again) if it means through love, compassion and helping one another.
One of the first steps in stopping some of the vitriol, is to stop RELYING on news that is out for profit - FOX, CNN etc... We can begin there but until we learn to watch both, research the conflicts and learn for ourselves we will forever be caught in a vicious cycle that we have much control over, but refuse to use. Until we learn to see more than just what we want to see, we will remain in this constant turmoil. Example - Jen Psaki of CNN was reporting on the Minneapolis shooting and when she began to think of her own children, she began to cry. It was difficult for her to continue. Later she posted Thoughts and Prayers are not enough. What many heard was prayer doesn't work, stop praying, but we all know that is not what she said. Again, she said prayer is NOT enough. The main pushback on this is coming from Christians who jumped on that bandwagon with all the self righteousness one can muster, which is surprising to me. Again, I am not speaking of many Christian individuals and churches out there who are truly trying to leave MAGA at the door, and instead go into the world and be the true hands and feet of Jesus, both Republicans and Democrats. Oh, how I love these brave people. It appears that MAGA is the loudest and is doing a great job of presenting a gospel that is no longer good news. I want the world to know they are not speaking for many of us believers. I am not going to give a sermon on how it is biblical for thoughts and prayers to be followed by actions, but it won't work until people are ready to let go of the junk and grab on to the truth.
America will begin the healing process when many realize that the POWER to abolish abortion, to put gays back in the closet, treat immigrants like trash, is not the answer. Because power is just that, POWER, When power is lorded over those people who need to see love by those who claim to be the light of the world, the opposite of what so many Christians wish to accomplish will be completely negated. We are seeing that come to fruition right now by the decline in Christians and Church membership. I am not trying to hurt anyone, I am trying to bring the true gospel back. I am so passionate about this (as you have gathered). I have lost friends over this, gained some new, kept some old who disagree but tolerate me (lol),and my life has changed drastically since I began this walk (it really kicked into high gear a few months ago). I am not better than anyone else, I know people struggle. I certainly do. I know it's hard to change something we thought was going to be the answer, but we all have to have the courage to speak up. Sometimes the answer is not more money in our pockets, removing people who make us uncomfortable, and who we do not wish to help, and it is certainly not bringing empire into our churches. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes we have to be around people who make us uncomfortable, sometimes we have to give our money away down to the last $50, sometimes we have to cancel plans, sometimes we have to invite others to join us. It's the only way. I have seen a radical change in myself - my anger is subsiding, my love for all is multiplying, and my passion for sharing the love of Jesus has exponentially exploded. It feels good. Yes, I still get angry when I see injustice and cruelty, but it is righteous anger. I will leave you with this definition so we are clear - Righteous indignation, also called righteous anger, is anger that is primarily motivated by a perception of injustice or other profound moral lapse. It is distinguished from anger that is prompted by something more personal, like an insult.
In love and light! Di
