My husband’s grandfather used to say, “Never withhold a word from a person. One word can change someone’s life.” I think there’s a lot of truth to that.
I was on a flight recently from Dallas to Newark, and sitting in the window seat, I was resigned to simply doing a Sudoku puzzle to pass the time. Turns out, my neighbor in the middle seat was an avid fan of the game, as well, and we began talking. The conversation flowed easily and went from puzzles to other topics, such as family and values. I learned that my neighbor was a man of the faith. And as we talked about religion and Biblical principles, there were so many areas in which we wholeheartedly agreed.
If the story ended there, I think there would be no need to continue to blog about it. But the most interesting thing happened. As we talked about society and culture, we found that we had very different perspectives in some areas. And it led to a very healthy debate about issues such as abortion, race, and politics.
Now the last time I checked, there were certain issues you don’t discuss in mixed company. I think we covered them all! And our somewhat private conversation began tickling the ears of our other neighbor in the aisle seat. Soon, he was fully engaged in the conversation. And we realized the significance of our interaction. The three of us were different across so many lines: racial, gender, religious (our neighbor in the aisle was Jewish), socio-economic, and political. Yet, we were able to hold an honest conversation with one another without being “politically correct,” but respectful of each other’s point of view. By engaging each other’s differences, I believe we each carried something away to share with others in our lives.
The Bible tells us to be open to engaging one another. Hebrews 13:1-2 reads, “Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.”
I believe we need more open dialogue. What are your thoughts? Leave a comment!
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As the 2nd person in that conversation I can say that Alicia's comments were accurate and insightful.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago a friend of mine noted that as a society we have lost the ability to think logically and to frankly discuss topics in which we disagree. I think he was prophetic.
The conversation Alicia chronicled was a refreshing exception to that characteristic of our society.
One of the reasons is that Alicia and I shared the understanding that we were both children of God based on having knelt at the foot of the cross. The second reason is that we have both surrendered to the authority of the Almighty God and to his Scriptures.
from that foundation we could approach topics such as our views on the presidential campaign, abortion, recial relations etc. ... all tinder boxes. I believe that we both profited greatly from the conversation and I am looking forward to continuing the discussion.
Because He rose again: Dennis Rigstad