Some thoughts about sorrow. Why people are like "THAT".

Hello, friends......

Before starting, my apologies that the website apparently wasn't secure. A few folks pointed it out & it's fixed now.  

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Ever scratched ur noggin, saying "why do some folks act like 'THAT?'"......It's natural to project our life experiences on others. After all, its the way we've come to understand the world. However, while functioning this way is not inherently "selfish", we'll continue echoing in our chamber & will only understand our own tribe unless we start taking steps to discern context. Understanding other world views can be done w/o sacrificing our convictions. Non/anti-Christian worldviews can even give us a deeper appreciation for what we've been redeemed from.  Like Paul at Mars Hill (Acts 17:16-34), we're called to build bridges & become more conversant w/other worldviews. I'm on a learning curve, trying to get into the engine of what drives others....hoping to walk in better empathy.....because dealing w/sorrow is a window into someone's worldview. Behavior is almost always connected to one's upbringing.

In the 90's, I started & ran a work for African American kids in gang dominated areas. Diving in head first, (the best way) I got a crash course on human nature & began seeing why gangs form & a lot of other reasons "why".....One night, I walked in their shoes as I found myself in the midst of a tense confrontation. (I'm about to be VERY vulnerable here & show my naïvete. But I've learned a LOT since '99.).....One night, some kids I didn't recognize were waiting for Rico, one of my Bible club kids, when I pulled up to drop him off. I felt uneasy & should've kept driving, but he wanted to get out & talk to them. Big mistake. When he opened the door, an argument ensued & one of them began punching him as he leaned against the passenger seat of my truck. Suddenly, another smashed my windshield w/a whiskey bottle he found lying in the street…….It all happened so fast. Pulling Rico in, we sped off. For a few minutes, I....FELT....WHAT....THEY....FEEL. I even had a brief impulse for revenge....but of course, remained silent. One of my other boys called later that night, reporting that he saw one of them lift & subtly display a gun from his waistband. Sadly, Rico was eventually killed in a drive-by shooting a few yrs. later......Gangs are like micro-nations, struggling for urban domination, where the police rarely do more than quickly drive through & turn a blind eye when something happens. There's no excuse for any of this but it all begins to make sense when one becomes acquainted w/the conditions they live in. Very little favors their success. Would we have done any better? 

It's very noteworthy that Rico had once told me privately in a moment of sheer honesty that nobody actually "liked" the gang life but it was about survival. It's so sad & ironic that his method of survival played into his death. This is generational. His father had introduced that lifestyle. 

Our human condition is universally shared. The only thing dividing us is that some have had their buttons repeatedly pushed.....Then, eventually, those buttons start pushing them. Short of a spiritual intervention, increasingly desperate and/or odd stuff will spill out of hurting people in ways that nobody understands......not even the victims. Except for the Grace of God, we'd do no better. 
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The phenomenon of honor-shame culture in what I call "that other Abrahamic faith" is probably the most extreme form of pushed buttons. Adherents to this faith go as far as feeling guilty for illness & physical limitations because they presume that a vindictive God is making them pay for their sins. But, didn't Jesus' disciples think like that, as well? (John 9:1-2).......This perception of God & internal social pressure arguably makes their religion "the world's largest street gang" due to its resemblance to gangs as we've come to know them. Both phenomena lack authentic brotherhood. Even moderate expressions of this religion demand loyalty & respect, enforce strict codes of conformity, have a sense of unity & power....& claim to protect their own like a family. More radical sects use violence to advance their agenda. Conversely, the way of the Cross advances via kindness. And the way of the Cross has ALWAYS been about receiving people who differ from us. (Acts 8:26-40)......

Christians can have a diversity of plausible views on immigration, but none of these views should impact how we personally treat the newcomers we encounter in growing numbers. (Leviticus 19:34) We must separate our politics from our missional calling because perfect love drives out fear. (1 John 4:18) One system says, "it's us against the world". The other says "go into all the world".  

Below is one of my favorite songs.....People Need the Lord by Steve Green: 

https://youtu.be/1uZcGaixMhg?si=ZqeIARAoC3FBElWI
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​​There are 2 prayer gatherings that I'd like to mention.....On Wednesday mornings, we have a weekly in-person meeting which focuses on refugees. The other is the 24/7 "Global Family Prayer" zoom. If anyone would like to know more about either one, please contact me. 

For Acts 17:16-34, empathy and the nations, 

.......Just another witness to His Glory