We often hear about the "Christian Right," or "Conservative Christians." Yet, if you think about it, Jesus was the original liberal.  He cared about motives more than the deeds themselves (Matthew 23:5 & Mark 12:41-43) and more about compassion than adhering to rules (Luke 6:1-11 & Luke 13:10-17). This blog will reflect liberal Christian values of compassion, tolerance, mercy, charity, a thirst for knowledge & understanding, and, above all, love.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Upside Down

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"Then he said to them, 'Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.'" ~ Luke 21:10-11

I usually begin work on a blog by looking for appropriate, public domain, art so the entry will show up better on social media.  I'm not going to bother this time, I'm too upset.  Actually, "upset" is the wrong word, but it's as close as the English language gets.

I was raised to think of the police as valiant heroes protecting the good citizens from evil.  The cops were the good guys.  Heck, I've always believed that if I could walk, I'd be a cop.  Now, the police are the bad guys, and communities are chomping at the bit to dismantle whole police departments.

On top of that, the Corona virus is still claiming lives.  As of 06/15/2020-19:31:39 PST, there have 2,085,769 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States of America resulting in 115,644 deaths.  If that's not a pestilence I don't know what is.  Yet, our leaders want to open things back up to ease strain on the economy.  The health of the economy is being valued more than human life.

Everything feels backwards... upside down... chaotic.

I don't know if these are the end of days, or not.   Nevertheless, I find myself increasingly grateful for my Christianity.  At least my religion provides me with a solid sense of right and wrong.  No, not talking about avoiding shellfish or mixed knit clothing.  I'm talking about treating people with kindness.  

Except for casting my vote this November, there's nothing I do to "fix the country."  Yet, by treating the people immediately around me with enough respect to wear a mask whenever I go outside, or help someone when I can, maybe I can improve my own tiny corner of it.  Maybe, just maybe, if we all did so, we wouldn't be shooting each other, or be coming out of self-quarantine prematurely. 

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference." ~ Serenity Prayer