Gun control. Oh, snap. I’m about to talk about this. Unfortunately, I think very few people actually empathize with both sides of the debate.
Pro: The US was founded from a general distrust of the government. We were escaping what we thought was a tyrannical government. So we didn’t want the government to be able to subjugate us again. A government can’t easily subjugate their people if the people are carrying submachine guns.
Con: People are dying every day because of people who own guns. Innocent individuals get mowed down by people owning legally obtained guns. It’s a tragedy. Seriously…a tragedy.
I challenge you right now to stop. Don’t take a stance on the issue just yet. Look at both of these arguments with a truly neutral stance and feel the emotions of both sides.
If you’ve never done this, it’s going to be tough. I know there’s probably a strong urge inside of you to put your foot down and write a comment in the comments section of this blog.
The problem with that sort of response is that it completely lacks empathy. And empathy is a necessary skill if we are to be successful humans and successful believers.
1 John 3:17 tells us: But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? This is talking about financial matters. But the same thing happens when we shut our heart to others’ emotions and others’ beliefs. Does the love of God abide in us if we refuse to empathize with others?
I want to encourage you: don’t be so quick to formulate an opinion. Listen to people. You don’t need to be wishy-washy with your stance on things. But you need to temper the urge to stomp on other people’s opinions.
Now…see if you can resist the urge to leave a comment.
Comment….
I’m so disappointed. 😉