I love it. But what about when the worldview you hold sets *yourself* up as the victim (eg christian nationalism - we are being persecuted for believing in marriage, gender, etc)? How do we check ourselves / our thinking from that?
Great point! I’ve heard this also described as seeing all people as co-image bearers of God since we are all made in the image of Him. The tribalist ideas we have along with confirmation bias is akin to God making us all robots without choice & without challenge or growth. If God wanted a bunch of mindless Yes-men He would’ve done that. That’s exactly what I do when I only discuss & consider ideas that fit with the worldview I have. It’s through adversity & challenge that we grow the most spiritually, mentally & physically. Those on the other side of the aisle politically & religiously, believers vs. followers, unbelievers, etc. Whoever is in opposition to my worldview help me to grow & develop. God is calling all of humanity to Himself especially through opposition & adversity. Seeing others as God through Christ sees us is one of the biggest & on going challenges we face, even “the other side” & “them”.
This doesn’t mean that we are to accept sin, separation from God, quite the contrary. When I encounter those who are fighting for & in opposition to the will of God, as specified in scripture, I’ve meditated on their ideas. I’ve asked God to break my heart for what breaks His & what gets returned isn’t hatred but sadness. When masculinity & femininity is tossed around between the sexes like a tissue that saddens God, when the murder of an unborn child is viewed as reparations for women not having equal rights in the past this also saddens God, when I make golden calves out of work, money, prestige & the like this also saddens God. These things anger God as well yet that emotion, Godly anger, we must navigate very carefully for obvious reasons. I’ve learned over the past couple of years to thank God for how He challenges my dogmatic & immovable thinking.
What also continues to come back via the Holy Spirit is Jesus’s one & final command, that we love as He has loved. That is & should always be our #1 marching order. What that looks like in practice is & should always be at the forefront of our minds. Andy Stanley has been quoted famously as saying, “When you don’t know what to say or do ask What does love require of you”.
I love it. But what about when the worldview you hold sets *yourself* up as the victim (eg christian nationalism - we are being persecuted for believing in marriage, gender, etc)? How do we check ourselves / our thinking from that?
Great point! I’ve heard this also described as seeing all people as co-image bearers of God since we are all made in the image of Him. The tribalist ideas we have along with confirmation bias is akin to God making us all robots without choice & without challenge or growth. If God wanted a bunch of mindless Yes-men He would’ve done that. That’s exactly what I do when I only discuss & consider ideas that fit with the worldview I have. It’s through adversity & challenge that we grow the most spiritually, mentally & physically. Those on the other side of the aisle politically & religiously, believers vs. followers, unbelievers, etc. Whoever is in opposition to my worldview help me to grow & develop. God is calling all of humanity to Himself especially through opposition & adversity. Seeing others as God through Christ sees us is one of the biggest & on going challenges we face, even “the other side” & “them”.
This doesn’t mean that we are to accept sin, separation from God, quite the contrary. When I encounter those who are fighting for & in opposition to the will of God, as specified in scripture, I’ve meditated on their ideas. I’ve asked God to break my heart for what breaks His & what gets returned isn’t hatred but sadness. When masculinity & femininity is tossed around between the sexes like a tissue that saddens God, when the murder of an unborn child is viewed as reparations for women not having equal rights in the past this also saddens God, when I make golden calves out of work, money, prestige & the like this also saddens God. These things anger God as well yet that emotion, Godly anger, we must navigate very carefully for obvious reasons. I’ve learned over the past couple of years to thank God for how He challenges my dogmatic & immovable thinking.
What also continues to come back via the Holy Spirit is Jesus’s one & final command, that we love as He has loved. That is & should always be our #1 marching order. What that looks like in practice is & should always be at the forefront of our minds. Andy Stanley has been quoted famously as saying, “When you don’t know what to say or do ask What does love require of you”.
balanced, healthy
Cruciformly. ❤️ Sanctifying product of the Holy Spirit? Holding loosely from the Pacific NW.