As I look at current events in our nation and around the world, I’m struck by how easily we forget the power of the word and—the simple truth that two things can be true at the same time.
-Vanilla ice cream can be wonderful and chocolate ice cream can be wonderful.
-We can grieve deeply after a loss and celebrate the memories we hold dear.
-We can be Christian and recognize that others find meaning and purpose in different faith traditions.
-We can feel hopeful about the future because it rests in God’s hands and feel anxious about the challenges right in front of us.
-We can believe in the need for better immigration practices and border security and believe that what is happening with ICE has gone too far.
This is the power of and: it allows us to hold complexity without fear. Yet we are often told the opposite—that if we affirm one side of “and,” the other must be rejected. Too often, and is replaced with versus. When that happens, the other side stops being a person to be listened to and valued and instead becomes a position we’ve been taught to fear or dismiss.
As people of faith, we know a different way. Jesus himself engaged in meaningful conversations with people who thought differently than he did. He listened. He treated them with dignity. And he also held firm to what he believed to be true.
Scripture calls us to “have the same mind as Christ” (Philippians 2:5). That doesn’t mean avoiding hard conversations or pretending differences don’t matter. It means speaking truth with humility, listening for understanding, and refusing to reduce others to labels or talking points.
Jesus never reduced people to categories or arguments. He saw persons—beloved children of God—before he ever saw positions. When we choose and over versus, we reflect the mind of Christ: a way of being in the world that holds truth with humility and love with courage. May we, as a community of faith, be known not for how loudly we argue, but for how faithfully we love.
-Pastor Heather
