Cultural Gaslighting

Photo by Alex Carter on Unsplash 

"In the gospels, the preponderance of action that occurs is Jesus teaching. He teaches at the Temple, on a hillside, by a lake, in a field, by a campfire, at a dinner table, while at a wedding, and in the center of the city. He teaches individuals, his disciples, large crowds, small groups, his friends, and his foes."

--Diana Butler Bass, Freeing Jesus: Rediscovering Jesus as Friend

Jesus teaching his foes got me wondering how much we misread the Bible's argumentative episodes 

 because our American culture priorizes being complicit and keeping problems quiet. 

Years ago I worked with a man who had emmigrated to the USA from Syria. He was having trouble getting along with people because he was perceived as being too forthright and confrontational. He explained to me that in his home country assertiveness was the culture.  

We say assertiveness is ok, we even had classes in it for awhile, but what we really want is peace, even if it's only on the surface.

Yesterday I was holding my 6-month-old grandson. When he started crying, I attempted to pacify him, saying, "You're ok." He wasn't really ok or he wouldn't have been crying.  But I didn't know why he was crying, so I gave him a dose of cultural conditioning that teaches us to be "ok" whether we are or not. 

Sorry, kid. I'll try to do better next time.

Jesus says, "the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) Allowing ourselves and each other to be truthful about our feelings and problems, even when they're hard to express or hear, sets us free.

Being sad or sick or poor is not a sin, and sometimes much more complicated than we like to think. It's ok to not be ok. 

This reminds me of an old BJ Thomas song.... I need to be still and let God love me....

Thanks, God.