To be a Christian, a follower of the teachings of Jesus, is difficult. While living out the attitudes and values of Jesus has never been easy, in our era, there are significant challenges. The most obvious challenge is that the Christian Church today is characterized by egregious actions and statements that surely contradict the essence of the life and ministry of Jesus. In this context, to call oneself a Christian often results in being misunderstood or mislabeled as condoning or representing the adherent forms of institutional religion prevalent in the Church today that are essentially oppressive or irrelevant.
Of course, there is a far more basic challenge to living according to the essential moral teaching of Jesus: to love one’s neighbor. Loving one’s neighbor is the heart of the message of Jesus. Having positive regard for those whom we like or who are like us is a simple enough task. But to hold benevolently or experience kinship with those who are different from us can be a stretch forus in ways that are truly uncomfortable.
In the past, I’ve written about the importance of having people in our lives who are different from us. In particular, I’ve held the position that to overcome racism in the world, it’s important to have friends who are racially diverse. To that end, I’ve shared about my own friendships which cross racial boundaries. While that is something good, loving one’s neighbor takes us to even deeper kinds of differences among people.
I am a social progressive who believes that government structures should serve the common good. I contend that a much larger share of my tax dollars should be spent on alleviating poverty in the world, providing medical care, and assuring quality education rather than stockpiling weapons of mass destruction and subsidizing mega-corporations. I also contend that it is our moral responsibility to protect the environment and the lives of all living species not only for future generations but also for the well-being of the planet. Knowing that I hold these opinions and that I am deeply convinced that they are right, can I love those who are different from me? Can I follow the teachings of Jesus and love Trump supporters, people who hold racist views, Southerners who believe that the Confederacy is their cultural heritage, and those who believe that we should take what we can of natural resources now? At heart, loving those who are radically different is the essential challenge of being a Christian.
Honestly, I cannot say that I love all people. I have difficulty being tolerant of those who hold positions diametrically opposed to my own particularly when their views harm others. At the same time, I do have friends who are Trump supporters. I have friends who question the science related to climate change. And, yes: there are some friends who are uncomfortable with various dimensions of equality and equal rights. But they are my friends. There are also colleagues with whom I work for many years who hold views very different from my own.
Because I strive to be loving, I am also honest with them. I do my best to communicate that I hold different positions and, at times, flatly disagree. Because I strive to be a follower of the teachings of Jesus, I do my best to not offend their dignity. It is my understanding that if I am to live out the teachings of Jesus, then I need to both treat those with whom I disagree with dignity and respect while also demonstrating my respect for our relationship by taking time to explain why I disagree with them. This is a difficult task. It’s much easier to cut off those who hold different positions from our own and write them off as being selfish, or short-sighted, or ignorant, or even stupid. Such divisions and name-calling are contrary to the teachings of Jesus.
The mandate of Jesus to love others as we have been loved requires that we strive to demonstrate unconditional love toward those with whom we disagree. That doesn’t mean that we have to allow them to harm us. But I believe that as a Christian, I can’t write off those who hold different views and values from me. Indeed, I am to find that which is of God in them. Indeed, the heart of Christianity is very demanding, but it is the way of Jesus.
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