Within the past year or so there seems to have been an unveiling. Inequalities and injustices that have been accepted or avoided for too long have reached their breaking points, causing all of us to decide how we will respond to these cries for help.

Emotions are high, opinions are strong and harsh words are the weapon of choice in tearing down those with differing opinions. There seems to be no, or very little, grace given in disagreement.

I can disagree with you, and I don’t have to malign you. -Jonathan Merritt

Malign is a strong word, with synonyms like smear and vilify, and captures the verbal abuse that is happening in our society today. And not just in society as a whole, but within the Christian community as well, between believers.

Have we forgotten the teaching of Proverbs 27:17, the one about iron sharpening iron? As we rub against one another there will be some discomfort and friction, but the rub should lead to the building up and betterment of one other. Instead, we seem to be using the discomfort of disagreement as just cause to hurt and tear down.

In a recent podcast interview, [linked below], Jonathan Merritt explains how Christians are maligning each other with name calling. He explains how progressive Christians, falling more on the left, tend to label those who disagree with their stances as haters. Conservative Christians, falling more on the right, often label those who disagree with their ideals as heretics.

These labels, Jonathan points out, free us from having to listen to or be in relationship with people who hold opposing views from our own, and labels remove the need for us to wrestle with different ideas.

Labels allow us to disregard opinions, removing any option for people to be anything other than what we have deemed true. When we discredit individuals we feel justified in refusing to listen to their opinions because we have already decided that they are wrong and unworthy of our time, and, worse, our general respect as human beings.

Labels remove compassion and care and any sense of commitment we might otherwise feel towards common courtesy.

Labels remove dignity and allow us to overlook the fact that, although flawed, every person in an image bearer of God.

Have we become so prideful that we dismiss any idea that we, ourselves, could possibly be wrong; or, are we afraid that the things to which we cling might come up lacking or incomplete? Maybe we’re afraid that we might have to release some of our own power in order to expand and make room for others.

Are we more concerned with being right than we are about loving one another?

So, where do we go from here?

While the extreme views and heated disagreements are uncomfortable, we’ve come to a critical and crucial time–we need to address these concerns and learn to work together, differences and all. Perhaps we don’t publicly label others with differing opinions, but even our silent eye rolls, heavy sighs and head nods are ways we disregard and remove individuals from ourselves by placing them in the “others” category.

Let’s start by being more mindful of our own words and attitudes. What are we saying, posting, liking and retweeting? Are we engaging in helpful and edifying conversations, or are we contributing to the malice and name calling?

Let’s welcome open conversations about topics that we do not fully understand or agree with, willingly listening to those who do not share our same views. We do not have to agree, but we can gain better perspective and understanding. Interacting with people who hold different views will help us approach conversations about our own views in love, with more insight and thought.

Let’s start listening more and talking less, allowing ourselves to look at a situation from another’s perspective and entering conversations with the purpose of gaining better understanding rather than as a means for defending our own case. Let’s start sharpening one another with openness and honesty, in humility and with grace.

Let’s welcome more diversity into our lives, remembering that each individual bears the image of God in unique and beautiful ways.

Let’s be in prayer for wisdom in how to move forward in unity, even though we won’t agree on everything. We are all far too complex to be contained or reduced to labels.

A little prudence would remind us that no one is always wrong — also read: no one is always right. A quick glance in the mirror is reminder enough that we’ve got a lot of work to do.

Click the link to listen to The Thread podcast episode mentioned above: Hate, Heresy and False Conclusions