People adapt to cold temperatures, hot temperatures, certain diets, cultures and so much more. Some of our adapting is for the better, and some, not so much. With my girls, it seems to have given them the ability to continue to act somewhat like children despite the horrors they have been through. This, I see, as adaptivity for the better. For others, it is for the worse.
In an age where information is at our fingertips and everyone with internet access has a platform from which to speak, we have stopped being caring and careful with our speech, instead becoming caustic and callous. We have adapted to the social norm of being hateful. People who would no doubt describe themselves as good friends and neighbors, have allowed their online personals to be anything but. I see people posting things on Facebook that are demeaning, mean, and uninformed. People who have never interacted with certain people groups on a personal level, have very loud opinions about them on a public platform. This is bad enough online, but I see it bleeding into real life as well. We have become an us vs them society where if we are for something, we have to be against something else. We can't just be for a certain candidate, we have to be against the other. We get to be bitter and condescending and judge the many by the few.
All cops aren't corrupt. All african-americans aren't thugs. All republicans aren't gun-toting racists. All democrats aren't idiots suckered into spending money by sad stories. All muslims aren't extremist terrorists. All poor people aren't looking for a handout. All rich people aren't uncaring. People are people. Regardless of religion, race, occupation or political affiliation, people are purposed and created by God. You, me, the girls I work with, the people you see on TV, and people you've never met, all are individual and unable to be known by one small fact about one facet of who they are.
God commanded us to love others, and pray for those who persecute us. In America, most of us have no idea what that word persecution actually means. People disagreeing with you online is not persecution. In parts of the world our brothers and sisters in Christ are dying for their faith because they love people enough to put themselves at risk to ensure they have heard about the God who made them. That is persecution. How is it that those who are being killed for their faith often times can show more love and compassion for those who are different than those of us sitting in our comfortable chairs and air conditioning, watching horrors unfold on a television, and not right in front of us? We need to start adapting to the ability we have been given to love those near and far, instead of adapting to the pattern we see around us of loudly spewing hate at those who are different. God never asked us to be judge and jury, but to be his hands and feet to a world in need. We know our mission, we have been asked to love. We weren't asked to be comfortable and safe, but to be willing and serve. I pray that we can adapt in good ways, as God directs, and leave the hate behind us in the days to come.
