Observing the Current State of Things

Friends, I don’t want to appear tone deaf to what is happening in our country or in the wider world. While this blog focuses primarily on wisdom for faithful living, I am not a spiritual idealist detached from the realities we all live in. Terri will be the first to tell you that I’m a news junkie.

That began early when my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Williams, impressed on me the importance of reading the newspaper every day and staying informed about current events. For a season, I even studied journalism and broadcasting in college. Paying attention to the world has always mattered to me.

Scripture reminds us that awareness is not the enemy of faith:

The wise see danger ahead and avoid it, but fools keep going and get into trouble.
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭3‬ ‭NCV‬‬

The death of Renée Goode is sad and tragic. A life was lost, and that should never be minimized under any circumstance. At the same time, I don’t believe her death was the result of willful murder so much as a series of deeply unfortunate decisions. Renée underestimated the situation she entered into, and she and her wife misjudged the seriousness and volatility of the environment they chose to step into. In her article, Minneapolis Isn’t a Movie, Kat Rosenfield, writing for The Free Press, offers a thoughtful and sobering analysis that I found helpful. You can read it here.

Scripture holds space for both compassion and truth. The Apostle Paul reminds us:

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

My own perspective on immigration is shaped by lived experience. My parents immigrated lawfully to the United States in the 1970s, with me in tow. After fifty years of living here as a permanent resident, I became a naturalized American citizen in 2022. I understand immigration personally and deeply.

I am pro-immigration. I believe it reflects human dignity and the image of God in every person. Scripture affirms this clearly:

The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19‬:‭34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

At the same time, I believe nations have borders and that there is a legal process for immigrating from one country to another. Order and compassion are not enemies; they are meant to work together.

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭14‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Spiritual formation does not require us to look away from reality. In fact, faith calls us to engage the world honestly, thoughtfully, and with both mercy and discernment.

A Prayer for Wisdom and Compassion

Dear Sweet Lord,
Give us hearts that are tender without being naive, and wisdom that does not harden us against compassion. Help us to grieve loss honestly, to tell the truth humbly, and to love our neighbors without surrendering discernment.
Teach us how to live faithfully in a complicated world. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.