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Labor Day weekend, Lord!
And I've been thinking about some work I need to do...
And I've been thinking about some work I need to do...
I need to work harder at understanding folks
whose politics are different from mine,
even very different from mine..
I need to work at moving
- beyond their slogans and stump speeches
- through their deceptions and half-truths
- above their snarky, sarcastic name-calling
to get beyond
- my own boiler plate rhetoric
- through my own deceptions and half-truths
- above my snarky, sarcastic name calling
- out of my bias and prejudice
- around my stubborn resistance
- deeper than my flip, untested theses
and closer to understanding
why others believe as they do...
I need to dig deeper, Lord,
to see how they see truth and justice
where I don't see it at all...
to see how they see truth and justice
where I don't see it at all...
I need to work at acknowledging:
- that they're as sincere in their beliefs
as my side is in ours
- that not all the bad guys are on their side
and not all the good guys are on mine
- that neither side has all the answers:
we're all sometimes right
and we're all sometimes wrong...
- that they're as sincere in their beliefs
as my side is in ours
- that not all the bad guys are on their side
and not all the good guys are on mine
- that neither side has all the answers:
we're all sometimes right
and we're all sometimes wrong...
So, that's the hard work I face, Lord,
and to do it I need to let go:
- my pride and rigid resistance
- the conviction that I'm always right
- the notion that they have nothing to
teach me
and I have all the answers
- and assuming that you're on my side, Lord,
and want nothing
to do with the them...
That's a lot of work - and to achieve even some of that
I'll need strength and rest -and so I pray:
protect me, Lord, while I'm awake
and watch over me while I sleep
that awake, I might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
If a music widget doesn't appear below, click here!
Neighbor by J.J. Heller
Sometimes it’s easier to jump to conclusions
Than walk across the street
It’s like I’d rather fill the blanks with illusions
Than take the time to see
You are trying to close the back door of your car
You are balancing the groceries and a baby in your arms
You are more than just a sign in your front yard
You are my neighbor
I can get so lost in the mission
Of defending what I think
I’ve been surfing on a sea of opinions
But just behind the screen
You are grateful that the work day’s finally done
You are stuck in miles of traffic, looking at your phone
You are tryin’ to feel a little less alone
You are my neighbor
When the chasm between us feels so wide
That it’s hard to imagine the other side
But we don’t have to see things eye to eye
For me to love you like you are my neighbor
My neighbor
Oh, to fear the unfamiliar
Is the easy way to go
But I believe we are connected
More than we might ever know
There’s a light that shines on both the rich and poor
Looks beyond where we came from and who we voted for
‘
Till I can’t see a stranger anymore
I see my neighbor
May my heart be an open door
To my neighbor
You are my neighbor
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