1000 Shades of Grey
I think people prefer a binary world. Things are good or bad. Black or white. Republican or Democrat. Optimism or pessimism. You get it.
And I, Carly, am especially binary. I prefer to live in a world where things are clearly right or wrong, and we need to choose the right side and stick to it. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's cut and dry. It's clean and clear. It's black and white.
But the older I get (WARNING: I'm about to sound like an old person), the more clearly I see that the world we live in is just really, really GREY.
Things aren't clearly spelled out for us sometimes. There's a lot of wandering around like we're trying to find the light-switch in a dark, unfamiliar room. We want things to be clearly right or wrong but there's just so much to consider and so many different beliefs, opinions, and perspectives, and no matter how much easier it is for our tiny little brains to comprehend when things are either "this" or "that," sometimes we're forced to really sit down and consider that which is grey. And then reconsider. Then reconsider again.
And let me be clear: It. Is. Exhausting.
It's so much easier for my brain to digest the following scenarios:
People that look like me are good, and people who don't look like me are bad.
Or,
People who think like me are right, and people who don't think like me are wrong.
I mean we all do this, right? It's easier for our brains to jump to far ends of the spectrum and stick our flags in the sand and sit down next to them in righteous indignation and say, "This is the way it is. I've made up my mind and I'm sticking to it. Don't even try to show me the other side."
And as a person of faith, it had been relatively easy for me to live like this growing up, because I thought I had God on my side. When other church people agreed with me, and the Bible briefly mentioned something along the lines of what I believed, I felt that I had the right to be set in my ways. Because I believed it was God's way. And who can disagree with GOD?!
I don't think God operates the same way we do in our little two-sided coin world, though. People tried to find controversial issues and present them to Jesus and have Him "pick a side." In my pretty limited knowledge of Scripture, I don't think He ever was never presented with two options and was just like, "Yep, Option #1 is correct. Sorry, people who believe Option #2. You're wrong. I choose #1." (I haven't fact-checked this, but I think of stories where people were literally "plotting to entangle him in his words" and Jesus just blew their minds instead.)
Sometimes, I don't think it has to be either/or. I think it can be both.
For example, when the Pharisees really tried to stump Jesus...
Is it lawful to pay taxes to Ceasar, or not? They asked.
"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." He replied.
Boom. Roasted. It's both in this case.
But there are other stories where people ask Jesus a question and he flips it back at them, making them become more introspective. And I think this is the coolest part...
God cares more about our desire to know Him than our desire to answer the "which side are you on?" questions.
God is above the binary, this-or-that ways of this world. There's often a third way. Or a fourth. Or a tenth. Or, we're asking the wrong questions.
If God wants us to grow closer to Him, and we're seeking Him when we wrestle with tough questions, than it can be presumed that He wants us to wrestle. Paul even applauds people for asking questions and not just accepting what the status quo of the time was.
Jesus died on a cross to create an everlasting bridge between God and the world. He came to bring together, not to separate. If we find ourselves wayyyy on one side of an issue, it may mean we're unwilling to meet with/speak to people on the other side, which is contrary to the character of Jesus the King of restoration and unity.
The reality is that we're living in this weird world where God is present but there's also a lot of sin and it's messy and difficult to navigate. There aren't 50 shades of grey to navigate, there are 1000. Maybe more.
And in order to try and 1) love God and 2) love others, I think we need to 1) seek His face first and 2) love on people who may think differently than us. That is all.
And I, Carly, am especially binary. I prefer to live in a world where things are clearly right or wrong, and we need to choose the right side and stick to it. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. It's cut and dry. It's clean and clear. It's black and white.
But the older I get (WARNING: I'm about to sound like an old person), the more clearly I see that the world we live in is just really, really GREY.
Things aren't clearly spelled out for us sometimes. There's a lot of wandering around like we're trying to find the light-switch in a dark, unfamiliar room. We want things to be clearly right or wrong but there's just so much to consider and so many different beliefs, opinions, and perspectives, and no matter how much easier it is for our tiny little brains to comprehend when things are either "this" or "that," sometimes we're forced to really sit down and consider that which is grey. And then reconsider. Then reconsider again.
And let me be clear: It. Is. Exhausting.
It's so much easier for my brain to digest the following scenarios:
People that look like me are good, and people who don't look like me are bad.
Or,
People who think like me are right, and people who don't think like me are wrong.
I mean we all do this, right? It's easier for our brains to jump to far ends of the spectrum and stick our flags in the sand and sit down next to them in righteous indignation and say, "This is the way it is. I've made up my mind and I'm sticking to it. Don't even try to show me the other side."
And as a person of faith, it had been relatively easy for me to live like this growing up, because I thought I had God on my side. When other church people agreed with me, and the Bible briefly mentioned something along the lines of what I believed, I felt that I had the right to be set in my ways. Because I believed it was God's way. And who can disagree with GOD?!
I don't think God operates the same way we do in our little two-sided coin world, though. People tried to find controversial issues and present them to Jesus and have Him "pick a side." In my pretty limited knowledge of Scripture, I don't think He ever was never presented with two options and was just like, "Yep, Option #1 is correct. Sorry, people who believe Option #2. You're wrong. I choose #1." (I haven't fact-checked this, but I think of stories where people were literally "plotting to entangle him in his words" and Jesus just blew their minds instead.)
Sometimes, I don't think it has to be either/or. I think it can be both.
For example, when the Pharisees really tried to stump Jesus...
Is it lawful to pay taxes to Ceasar, or not? They asked.
"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." He replied.
Boom. Roasted. It's both in this case.
But there are other stories where people ask Jesus a question and he flips it back at them, making them become more introspective. And I think this is the coolest part...
God cares more about our desire to know Him than our desire to answer the "which side are you on?" questions.
God is above the binary, this-or-that ways of this world. There's often a third way. Or a fourth. Or a tenth. Or, we're asking the wrong questions.
If God wants us to grow closer to Him, and we're seeking Him when we wrestle with tough questions, than it can be presumed that He wants us to wrestle. Paul even applauds people for asking questions and not just accepting what the status quo of the time was.
Jesus died on a cross to create an everlasting bridge between God and the world. He came to bring together, not to separate. If we find ourselves wayyyy on one side of an issue, it may mean we're unwilling to meet with/speak to people on the other side, which is contrary to the character of Jesus the King of restoration and unity.
The reality is that we're living in this weird world where God is present but there's also a lot of sin and it's messy and difficult to navigate. There aren't 50 shades of grey to navigate, there are 1000. Maybe more.
And in order to try and 1) love God and 2) love others, I think we need to 1) seek His face first and 2) love on people who may think differently than us. That is all.
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