Yesterday, my friend (and pastor) Ryan made a comment that has stuck with me. He said that sometimes we can get so caught up in the issue that we lose sight of the face. And from my experience, I think he’s right.
It can be easy to take sides on an issue, especially in areas like politics or religion, and forget that the people who are on the other side of the issue are real people with real stories. We can push for certain policies, based on a certain ideal, and neglect to think through how it will affect real people in the real world. Or we might demonize our opponents, or make over-generalized comments about them, even though we may not have any personal contact with anyone on the other side.
Now, this doesn’t mean we should not take a position. But it does mean that when we do, we should do so in a thoughtful and gracious way, having our thoughts and words tempered by the reality that there are faces behind each issue.