No wonder democracy doesn’t work anymore.
Democracy doesn’t work without humility and love. Otherwise, a nation will experience the present civil-war conditions of the USA, where self-righteousness/hatred/ridicule abound on both sides of the left-right divide, as well as with libertarians. Democracy no longer works without an authentic graciousness rooted in humility and love. Not merely an external graciousness, but also an internal graciousness/respect for others. Our nation seems broken beyond repair. We would be better off with a king, a dictator. A democracy without humility and love, breeds angry divisiveness, where neither side attempts to understand-or-have-compassion-for the other. Social media has poured gasoline on the problem. Compromise requires humility and love. We are kidding ourselves to imagine that what we have is worth being exported to others. Democracy is OVERrated, and has been OVERsold to us by the establishment of Democrats and Republicans and mainstream media who are equally power hungry. I stopped voting years ago in national elections, as a protest to the dysfunction in DC. Am I thankful for our sorry state of affairs? No. Should I be? Yes. Because Jesus is totally sovereign over this entire mess that He has created to show us the fruit of pride/independence/worldliness/confidence-we-know-what’s-best. The USA is not unlike the Tower of Babel: a monument to the folly of human wisdom, confidence-we-know-what’s-best.
Coaching advice for progressives, libertarians, Democrats and Republicans: STOPPIT. You progressives and Democrats alienate the opposition by your self-righteous ridicule. Why do you think Trump got elected? And you still don’t get your contribution, along with mainstream media’s constant ridicule of Trump. You progressives fail to see that you are unwittingly-but-hugely responsible for self-righteously enabling the growth of white supremists by trying to legislate (FORCE) your morality on the public, pressuring local governments to remove flags and statues. And your ridicule of white supremists. The conscience is reached by love and humility, not ridicule. Ridicule STRENGTHENS the opposition. You conservatives fail to see that you are unwittingly-but-hugely responsible for the mobilizing of the pro-choice movement against you. Likewise your self-righteous attacks on gay marriage. And prayer in public schools. Self-righteousness abounds. Attempts at legislating morality fail. Prohibition failed. The war on drugs has failed. The war on poverty has failed. Legislative attempts (FORCE) to solve societal problems has failed. Why?
The conscience is reached by love and humility, not government FORCE/legislation to control external behavior. Jesus never urged government solutions to societal problems: He spoke directly to the conscience. MLK succeeded because he attempted to reach the conscience through love and humility. Hollywood has succeeded far more than government legislation in helping whites understand what it’s like to grow up African in America. Consciences have been reached by love and humility through story on the screen. We’ve come a long, long way, but we still have many miles to go, for whites to understand white privilege and systemic racism, in a land where the subject of race has become so politicized.
Okay, Dave, how do we get loving and humble enough for democracy to work in a nation as large and wealthy and consumed with superiority and as militarized as the USA? Humongous miracle required. I have not enough faith to imagine Jesus pouring out His Spirit on us Americans today, bringing proud Christian and nonChristian alike, to our knees. Contrite, undone, humbled, by getting fresh glimpses of how-much worse we all are, than we ever could have imagined. I cannot even visualize loving-and-humble-toward-opponents Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, independents. Jesus said remove the log from your own eye before trying to remove a spec from another’s eye. Alien concept to Christian and nonChristian Americans. We are clear-sighted about the weaknesses of others, but blind to our own.
Want an example? I sent this link out last Saturday. I dunno if this Black man’s a Christian, but he ACTS like a follower of Jesus OUGHT to act. Seems to me. Remarkable humility and love. He embarrasses all of us. https://familyshare.com/28477/black-man-befriends-members-of-the-kkk-by-asking-them-one-simple-question
–Dave McCarty, GospelFriendships, chief of the self-righteous about others’ self-righteousness, needing fresh conviction of the sin of independence/pride, so he can momentarily be DumbSheepDave, enjoying everyone just as they are, and everything just as it is, and the bliss of Jesus-dependency/Jesus-contentment/Jesus-humility, so the humans around him might experience the other-worldly love of Jesus
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