Other than a fictitious holiday gift giver, no one really lives at either of our planet’s poles. The North Pole and the South Pole are practically inhospitable year-round.
The North Pole, which doesn’t even have a permanent landmass, ranges from a low of -45 degrees to a high of 32 degrees.
The South Pole in Antarctica ranges from a low of -80 degrees to a high of -15 degrees. There is a permanent scientific research center at the South Pole but, for the most part, it would be impossible to live at either of the poles.
While most human beings don’t try to live at either of the geographic poles, they do spend a lot of times on the poles of any given issue.
Every week it seems like there is a new issue that polarizes the American public.
Last week it was the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize gay marriage.
Before that it was pressure on South Carolina to remove the Confederate flag.
Before that it was gun control laws in light of the shooting in South Carolina.
Before that it was Caitlyn Jenner’s transition.
Instead of hanging out in the more temperate hemispheres of these issues and having actual conversations, people immediately run for their pole of choice. They cling to their extreme opinion and vilify anyone who thinks differently. They are emboldened in their stance by Fox News or MSNBC and then take to social media to defend their pole.
Being polarized by a new issue every week is disheartening and disillusioning. There is so much noise, especially on social media, and nobody wants to stop talking long enough to hear anyone else. When we take to our poles and shout as loud as we can, we’ll never find any real resolution or understanding. We’re not going to agree with everyone else, and that’s OK. But I’d much rather hold a less extreme opinion and listen to what someone else has to say.
I believe that the Bible only supports marriage between one man and one woman, but that doesn’t mean I hate anyone.
I believe that the Confederate flag is a racist symbol, but that doesn’t mean I think all southerners are racist.
I believe in the 2nd Amendment, but I think that there need to be severely tighter gun control laws.
I can affirm Caitlyn Jenner’s right to make choices about her life, but can also think that she abdicated her responsibility as a parent by allowing E! to turn her family into a circus.
I’m not comfortable living in the extremes of any issue because the reality is always somewhere in the middle. It’s easier to live on the extremes because there aren’t any gray areas or anything to hold in tension. It’s easier to see the world in black and white and to know that any dissenting opinion makes someone an enemy. It’s easier to live in the poles, but not better. It’s easier to live in the extremes, but that’s not how Jesus lived.
Jesus himself said that he didn’t come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. He was a faithful Jew who went to Temple, offered sacrifices and memorized the scriptures. But he was also a person of love and compassion. Even though he supported the Law, he didn’t let that keep him from touching a leper or spending time with “sinners” and Gentiles. Instead of moving to either extreme, Jesus found the middle ground where grace and truth could both thrive.
This is most apparent in the story of the woman caught in adultery.
One extreme, the Law, said that the woman should have been stoned to death for her transgressions. Another extreme, freedom of choice, would have said that the woman was free to do whatever she wanted regardless of the destructiveness of her choices. Instead of holding onto either pole, Jesus blends truth and grace. He doesn’t condemn the woman for her sin, but he also tells her to leave her life of sin behind.
We don’t know what happened to the woman and whether or not she left her life of sin, but that isn’t important. What’s important is seeing Jesus’s behavior and modeling it. We need to model grace and truth in everything that we do: that is our responsibility. We have no control over how people will respond to our grace and truth, but that doesn’t mean we should abandon them for either extreme.
We cannot embrace only grace or only truth; Jesus didn’t do it and neither should we. We can’t live on either pole of an issue, slinging arrows at the other side simply because they disagree with us. Instead we need to meet somewhere in the middle and actually talk with those who see things differently.
Social media have made it easier to share our ideas without hearing from anyone else. They’ve taken away the human component of a discussion or argument. Instead of angrily typing on our keyboards in all caps, we need to sit down with someone face-to-face. We need to hear their perspective, not because we totally agree with it or because we want to change our minds, but simply to better understand how they see the world.
And we won’t be able to listen to someone else if we continue to live in the extremes.
How do you avoid holding extreme positions? How do you engage with those who see the world differently?
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