Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. – Joshua 5:13-15
This year we have certainly seen the positives and negatives that come with a presidential campaign. The good part is that a campaign year brings about an opportunity to talk about issues that are facing our nation. It is an opportunity to wrestle with difficult topics and really focus on how we can continue to make this the best community it can be.
However, we also see the ugly side of campaigns. This is the side that leads to name calling, meanness, and behavior that would not be appropriate in an elementary classroom. One of the factors that leads to this is our tendency to politicize issues rather than humanize issues. We begin using words like “us” and “them”. When we do that we forget the individuals and lives that are represented. By categorizing people and making blanket statements we naturally set up divisions. Like Joshua, we begin making the case that God is either for “us” or for “them”.
Of course, we all like to believe that God is on our side. We find scripture and reasons to back up our claims and we convince ourselves that there is no doubt God is on our side and against our enemies. This only leads us to run farther away from “them” because we are convinced that means we are running closer to God. We find ourselves polarizing from each other more and more until we get to a point that we are incapable of ever truly listening to each other, learning from each other, and having empathy for one another.
Yet, when Joshua asked the angel of the Lord whose side he was on the angel replies “neither”. God is not for “us” or for “them”. God is for all of humanity. God is for all of creation. God does not categorize, stereotype, or make blanket statements about groups of people or political parties. God takes an interest in personal lives and stories, and chooses to love us through it all. God listens to all of us – Republican or Democrat, Black or White, Poor or Rich, Sooner or Cowboy.
Rather than trying to convince ourselves and everyone else that God is on “our” side or “their” side we should instead spend that time listening to one another. We should find people who think different from us and truly listen to where they are coming from. Listen to why they believe what they believe. Don’t do this for the purpose of trying to convince them they are wrong and we are right. Just listen to them with empathy and a basic understanding that we all want our community to be the very best that it can be. Sometimes we just have different ideas about how to get there. That does not diminish the importance of the issues at hand, nor does it mean we cannot take a stand on the things that matter most to us. But, it allows us to humanize the issues rather than politicize them.
