by Michael Donahoe
Is it aggravating to anyone else, or is it just me? I mean the fact that no matter what you believe, what your interpretation, someone always has a completely opposite view.
You get excited about hearing some truth that really connects, and the next thing you read an article by another Christian person that completely disagrees with what you just heard.
Even more than that, most of us Christians get mad when someone disagrees with us and is different. We get on Facebook and make ourselves look crazy because we talk about brotherly love, then we fight and argue with someone because they interpret things differently….and mostly about things we cannot prove one way or the other.
We really have to stop and think that whatever it is we believe, whatever our interpretation, not everyone is going to agree with us. There is no reason for us to get mad at someone else for being different.
Some of the things we believe in life are basically all a matter of faith. We have our opinions and beliefs, but normally we cannot prove them as fact. Yet, we will argue our point and get mad at others because they do not accept our views. Just because someone has a different viewpoint does not mean we cannot accept them and listen to their views.
We need to keep our ears open to the leading of the Spirit, and follow on our own path looking to Jesus. That does not mean any and every path is the right one, but we cannot be the judge of who is right and who is wrong.
Jeremy Myers, in his book ‘Dying to Religion and Empire’ states, “The beautiful thing about following Jesus is that while he leads us all in the same direction, there are millions of different paths he can take to get us there. His goal, of course, is to advance the Kingdom of God on earth through the people of God who are being conformed into the image of God”. We need to follow Christ as he leads us, and then be ready to love all people, no matter if they are on the same path or not.
Let’s stop arguing, fighting, and demanding that everyone agree with us, and love those we meet along the journey. Enjoy the diversity and differences in others and use it as an opportunity to learn new things and accept people who are different than us.
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Michael Donahoe was added as a writer as his views fit perfectly with those of Done with Religion. He also writes on Substack at https://personalmeanderings.substack.com/
Done with Religion 