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Be Kind
After Tracey and I returned from our trip to Oregon in early May, I recounted in a sermon about a sign I had seen in a gift shop that I later decided I want to get and post at the church door.
Be Kind. We’re All Idiots.
I know that this may offend some and it may challenge others. But I believe it is a contemporary way of stating Martin Luther’s final words, shared while he lay on his death bed in 1546.
We are all beggars. This is true.
This confession, which undergirded Luther’s reformed perspective, expresses his profound
understanding of humanity's reliance on God's grace, our dependence on Christ alone for salvation through faith, and the humility required by each of us in approaching God.
Luther had come to see that everyone is dependent on God’s grace and mercy. Blinded by our pride, our fears, our desires, and our prejudices, none of us fully escapes this human condition. It is in Christ alone that we have our hope. All people, regardless of background, moral fortitude or religious affiliation, are common in their need for God's grace.
In our world today, there is deep division among Americans over politics, economics, ethics,
truth and justice. But also divisions among nations over issues of sovereignty, prosperity,
cooperation, security and what makes for lasting peace.
It’s easy (or it makes us feel better) if we can belittle those with whom we disagree or reject
those who are opposed to our “vision” for life and society. It’s is easier to belittle someone, to
discount their opinions or their actions than to try and “get inside their skin” in order to
understand their motivations and the obstacles they face.
I am not immune to such thinking. And I know there are many (on all sides) that are not immune either. So we often find ourselves at a stalemate. Which is no way to live, to solve problems or to build community. But in the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31) we are commanded to
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Thus, a big swallow of humility is the dosage I believe is needed to treat this condition -- to
accept the idea that (1) we don’t have all the answers, (2) our experiences and preferences are not necessarily the only ones which carry weight, and (3) perhaps we do not know “what’s best.”
It is not being weak or indecisive to consider positions or comments unlike our own. And yes,
some of those will be “wrong.” Just as some of our takes will be seen in hindsight as “wrong.” We are all human beings, susceptible to being wrong.
To be clear, this is not to say that there is no ultimate right or wrong. But we must be judicious in assuming that we are always “right.”
Hence, the sign to remind us in our gathering and in our sending to be kind to others. After all, we all will be wrong some time or another.
Shalom.
Pr. Mark
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