Why Every Disagreement Feels Like a Moral Emergency
They’re just like ……. Everyone has one
It’s everywhere. It is so obvious, yet we can’t see what it is doing to us. With every flick of the thumb, a swipe down, an app opened, closed, and reopened again. It’s in our feeds, our news, our TV shows, and even Substacks. OPINIONS. Somehow, opinions do not follow the rules of supply and demand because supply is high and demand is incredibly low. Yet, we all feel an urge to offer our own perspective. Maybe it’s a need for validation, or to be seen. Maybe it’s boredom. Maybe it is pent-up anticipation of waiting for the subject matter to appear, of which you are an “expert”. Whatever it is, it appears to be a crisis that must be addressed.
We all joke about it or laugh at comedians pointing fingers at keyboard warriors as they spew their unsolicited advice on the World Wide Web. But truly, we all do it. We all have something to say, and it is usually about something we disagree with. So my question is, why? Why are we experiencing this phenomenon of rage and infighting on any and every subject matter that makes its way onto someone’s screen?
My hypothesis
Practically speaking, the world has never been so interconnected with one another, which has never allowed varying views to be seen instantaneously at such a large scale. Statistically, the odds of disagreement are guaranteed, and the odds of offense are just as likely. However, I think something deeper lies beneath the surface.
Culturally a few things are happening that created a perfect storm scenario. First, we have never been so connected and so lonely as a people. Our priorities have shifted to instant gratification and a “get the high score” by having the most followers, away from the meaningful relationships that were designed to sustain us through life. Second, radical individualism is a lonely life to live. Society touted the expression of self at the cost of seeing commonality with anyone else. Infact, in some circles, being similar to anyone at all is a bad thing, especially if that similarity lies with someone who has an opposing view.
Life and death moments require reactions, usually trained reactions under learned behavior. And with these culture altering scenarios simultaneously in play, everything becomes a reaction because everything is seen as a threat. Reaction is the force that swings the pendulum preventing anyone from finding rest at the center. Nothing about a life or death choice has anyone feeling relaxed.
What are we missing?
Scripture tells us that we are all created in His image (Genesis 1:26). If we believe that God, the one who created the universe and everything in it is valuable, then we must also see the value He imparted to humanity when we are modeled after him. Yet it seems as if we have somehow forgotten this truth. That each person has intrinsic value and worth to God. They were all fearfully and wonderfully made with purpose despite how we may feel about their actions. To be fair to us all, this is not a new problem of the current age. James makes it very clear that Christians can say one thing to God and do the opposite to others, but this was intended to be a warning of how easy it can be for something to come out of our mouths that harms our fellow image bears of God(James 3:9). In today’s world, we tend to publicly display these lapses in judgement at scale in front of millions. We often treat each other as cold blooded murders rather than fellow human beings and it is so easy to devalue a life through a screen without any real connection to the person. What’s at stake is so low, the thought of seeing another profile name as a real person is made in God’s image never occurs to us. Not even for a split second.
Finding the center again
Now more than ever we must raise to the forefront the God given value that each person has. Why should we? Because Jesus said to love God with everything that we have, heart, soul, mind, and to likewise love our neighbor as ourselves. What would the world look like if we cared as much for other people as we do our own individuality? What if we took a moment to consider that our words can truly speak life or death?
Now I am not suggesting we all become sheep and blend in with one another. We all have a unique gifting, personality, and character traits that make us who we are. But all of those things come from the purpose in which God created each of us to have (Romans 12:4-5).
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV
Disagreements will come. Views and perspectives will always vary. Truth will always remain truth. However, no matter how “right” you are, no matter how justified a response may be, every word typed or phrase uttered is directed at either God or someone who reflects his image just like you do. Here are a few questions that I struggle with a lot of the time that can help us slow down and not react, but respond.
Why does this matter to me?
Am I willing to understand before I respond?
Who am I “talking” to or engaging with?
What happens if I do/don’t say anything at all, will anything change?
Is the venue for this conversation appropriate?