But God gives fresh joy to the humble

Isaiah 29:13, 19-21, 24 The Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. … [But] the humble will be filled with fresh joy from the Lord. The poor will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. The scoffer will be gone, the arrogant will disappear … Those who convict the innocent by their false testimony will disappear. A similar fate awaits those who use trickery to pervert justice and who tell lies to destroy the innocent. … Then the wayward will gain understanding, and complainers will accept instruction.

1 Peter 3:14-16 Even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear.

I’ve mentioned before an organization called Braver Angels whose purpose is to build bridges across the divides that polarize America. BA is committed to equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats throughout the organization, so everyone has a voice. I want to share with you part of a letter I received from a BA volunteer that seems directly connected to what Isaiah says in chapter 29 as well as Peter centuries later.

Here’s Julian:   

At Braver Angels, we talk a lot about civility. But what does civility mean?

Civility isn’t just a desire to find common ground, or to bury our differences and sing “kumbaya” with people who disagree with us. It’s not a desire for ideological unity, a jettisoning of our core convictions, or a refusal to engage in healthy conflict.

Here’s what civility means to me.

1) If I want to criticize Critical Race Theory (for instance), then I need to read books and listen to TED talks by the most prominent supporters of CRT. I want to grapple with the best reasons that someone might support CRT, not the worst; and also get an accurate picture of what proponents like Robin DiAngelo and Kimberlé Crenshaw truly believe.

2) I won’t spend a lot of time reading or citing other critics of CRT. I want to avoid a game of telephone i.e. “I think that CRT is bad, and I’ll define CRT according to how this other critic defines it.”

Rules 1 and 2 are part of what Braver Angels calls “accurate disagreement.” In a republic, we the people should disagree vociferously. But we should also disagree accurately. We should try to learn what the other side thinks, and we should get this education from the horse’s mouth. Abiding by these two rules can help us to have more productive conversations on contentious topics, because it reduces the extent to which we all talk past each other.

3) Be hard on ideas and soft on people.  Though I disagree with them, when I read their books, I get the sense that CRT proponents like Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic are good, decent and smart human beings who just want to make their communities and their country a better place.

4) Whenever possible, I’ll mention the good ideas that an ideology brings to the table. Few ideologies are monolithically bad (though some are) and I want to acknowledge these shades of gray and also give credit where it’s due.

Of course, all of this sounds like a lot of work. What’s the point?

The first benefit of civility is that it reduces affective polarization. A world in which we hate every member of the other team is bad, both for our country and for ourselves as human beings. Accurate disagreement and seeing the good in our opponents’ views can help us forge a healthier union.

But there’s another benefit that’s not talked about enough: civility makes it possible to have bigger and better conversations. When we’re civil, our discussions get more rigorous and more intense, because we’re discussing bigger things—the future of civilization and what it means to forge a more perfect union—rather than mudslinging at our political opponents. When we spend less time and energy throwing insults and attacking the other side, we free up those resources to have the conversations that really matter.

For me, this second benefit of civility is summed up in one of my favorite lines from the old TV show The West Wing, by Leo McGary: “We’re gonna raise the level of public debate in this country. And let that be our legacy.“

So let’s all disagree a little more rigorously. And a little more civilly. But I repeat myself.

— Julian Adorney, Braver Angels volunteer

(Debbie again) Christians at least theoretically believe that God loves the world (John 3:16) and that he shows no favoritism (Romans 2:11, 1 Timothy 5:21, James 3:17-18) and that we are to love and pray for our “enemies” (Matthew 5:43-48). We’re to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in every part of our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). This is the heart close to the Lord (Isaiah 29:13); what James calls God’s kind of wisdom (James 3:17-18).

Food for thought as we head into this week.