Faith and Growth
By Rev. Leslie Woods
Water is water, right? As a kid, each summer, I visited my bestie. We were playing outside, and I ran in the house to get water from the tap. She was midsentence, “Wait, remember…”, when I took a good gulp or two of water that tasted like sulfur! There are so many things in life where we think water’s water. Because we have labeled it water, we assume it would all be drinkable. It is the same with religion. Not all Christianity is practiced the same.
I really wrestled with the death of an influencer recently. For some, he practiced his faith well. To others, hurt was still stinging from words of hatred he said. I wrestled with how I felt because I was the object of hate.
Christianity has long been used as a tool to oppress. It still perpetuates. Therefore, how do I process the fact that somebody killed was, in one viewpoint, viewed as a Christian martyr. And from another viewpoint, some people might have had a sigh of relief. Not to celebrate the death of somebody, please don’t get me wrong here. Yet, if we’re being honest, some may have thought, “That is one less person encouraging the oppression or demise of other people.”
Some say that it was just different opinions. There’s a difference between an opinion versus beliefs that want other people to be oppressed. One can think somebody’s a jerk, but wish them the highest and best. But if you wish somebody oppression, or even death, because of who they are (or their opinion); and you wish to suppress their freedoms, or suppress for them being able to be themselves, that sits differently.
While I felt empathy for his family, he said empathy was weak. Empathy is one of the most Christlike things we can express. Nobody deserves to die for their sin of not seeing all of God’s creation as holy. Period. When we don’t see the spark of the divine in all of creation, we miss the mark. I wrestled that I am casting judgment on him. It was harder for me to see the Light in him when he would rather see me stoned. I felt numbness more than sorrow.
How do I, how do we grow here?
Pray. This is not prayer intended solely to change the other person, although, we can affirm everyone be open to see the holiness in others. But even more than that, it brings it back to me.
How can we see the light in everybody?
How can we forgive and set boundaries?
How can we use our platform or privilege to lift others up instead of tear people down?
How can we create a safe place for all people?
Do I hold biases? How do I respond to that knowing?
How can we heal the hurt in this world?
How can we embrace the Holiness in everyone?
Love. The common thread in all faiths is Love. Jesus commands, “Love one another.” Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” But think about it. Loving someone and allowing someone to do things that hurt other people is not fulfilling the tenet of love. We are called in our love to speak up. Saying something that causes someone else to lose their freedom, or to be oppressed, that is not loving. It is not practicing the faith that we say we believe. When we see that occurring, we show love through requiring accountability.
Grieve. I grieved a lot. I grieved the fact that we lost sight of God’s abundance and we think that we have to oppress people to have what we want. I grieved the fact that some people are so hurt or afraid that they cannot see the humanity in others. I grieved the fact that we have been so manipulated that we fail to pause before we cast our opinions. I grieved the fact that we have not learned from our collective mistakes.
Forgive. Forgiveness is for you, let go of the hurt so that you can live in joy. Forgiveness comes with grace. Grace does not mean that we continue to be mistreated. Grace means that you give the opportunity for others and yourself to adjust your actions.
Do you commit to doing better? I do. Do you commit to living your faith, whichever faith it is, in a way that shines your Light, and encourages others to shine their Light? I do. This is how we create a loving world.