So, even though it is past midnight I am still counting this blog as being from yesterday. It was a busy day, which is why I am just now getting a chance to sit down and type away. First my parents came down and visited, Mary joined us for lunch at the Supreme Buffet, then my mom, my step-dad, Henry and I came home and hung out for a few hours. A few minutes after they left Mary called and asked me if I would be willing to meet her parents in Fort Wayne for dinner, so when Mary came home we quickly got ready and drove to Fort Wayne. We got back about an hour ago and I had to change, feed, and put Henry to bed because tonight is my night with him, hence the reason it is 12:16 and I am writing today's blog.
I had a couple different thoughts about what to write about tonight, but have decided to save all of them for a later date when my brain is a little less fuzzy, because to be completely honest I am quite tired and my brain is a little fuzzy, it wouldn't really surprise me to read this tomorrow and for some points to be complete gobbledygook. So, who knows what could transpire over the next few minutes.
So, tonight I want to take a few minutes and talk about fear, or at least a slightly irrational type of fear. I am finding that more and more it seems that there are a lot of people who are downright scared of the world outside their doors. So many people seem to think that everyone and everything is out to get them. And, while I do think that there are bad, perhaps even evil, things out in the world, by and large I don't think these things are out to get me or any other particular person, unless you happen to tick off the wrong mass murderer.
It seems that some people think that schools have become some kind of breeding ground for hate, which may well be true in some places, but if you want to say that bullying is some kind of new thing, I will laugh in your face. I got bullied some in school, and I went to school in the 80s and 90s, bullying is not new, ask any African American who happened to go to school in the 60s or 70s. Or any Asian kid who went to school in the 40s or 50s. This is not to say that bullying is alright, far from it I believe that we need to teach our children to respect other kids, to not physically of sexually or mentally harm another child for any reason, but rather it is to say that schools have never been perfect places, but we didn't used to be afraid of them.
There are other people who seem to be afraid of the food they eat, as if preservatives are a new concept, as long as we have been in the food eating business we have been making food last longer than it should, so we can sell it and consume it later. And in truth I might be able to get behind certain dietary concepts if they didn't all contradict each other so much. I mean, am I supposed to eat more carbs or no carbs? Is red meat essential or awful? Is vegetarianism the way to go, or will I lose essential vitamins if I do it? Can I lose weight if I simply stop eating bad food, or do I actually have to work out as well? Or do I just drink a 'milkshake' or eat more Special K, or have some heart healthy Cheerios? There are about as many different opinions on what is and is not healthy as there are people who want to be healthy.
Then there are people of faith who seem to be afraid of anyone whose faith happens to be slightly different [or sometimes vastly so] than theirs. I am a pastor and I can tell you unequivocally that I am not afraid of people who think differently than myself. I fear no Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Krishna, Mormon, Catholic, Pentecostal or even Baptist. I may find myself at odds with them over certain things, but I can also guarantee that I agree with them on other things. I do not fear Christians who believe in things contrary to what I believe, because they either love Jesus or they don't. I do not fear people of other faiths, because I know that they are simply trying to understand the world and their place in it, the very same thing that I am trying to do.
There is a quote from, I believe, the second Matrix movie where Morpheus is having a discussion with the general of Zion and the general is pointing out that not everyone believes the things that Morpheus does. Morpheus replies something along the lines of, "My beliefs do not require them to do so." I often think that if we had that view our world would be at odds a lot less. Some people might call it being politically correct, I don't think so, I think it means loving my neighbor as well as my enemy, because I believe that if we do that we will end up having a lot less enemies, because you can only love someone you hate so long until you no longer hate them. I worry that our fear continues to turn us against one another day in and day out. In this moment and in the next I plan to fear less and love more, and let God sort it all out in the end.
Peace and Love,
Pastor K
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