“No More Squinting”

My friend Kacy Latham wrote an interesting article the other day, entitled “No More Squinting.” She’s a good writer, and more often than not, I find myself agreeing with her. This time, I felt like she REALLY hit it out of the park. So with her kind permission, I wanted to share it with all of you. It’s worth thinking about.

No more squinting…

There were years that I drank a little to much of the “Hyper-Christian punch…”

You know the kind… Jesus is always coming back on this certain day…only to see it come and go without a rapture…

I lost my keys because “Satan was messing with me.”

Every bad thing from thunderstorms to temper tantrums were caused by “demons.”

The biggest thing was a buzzword that was misused… A lot.

Discernment.

I believe that normal discernment is very important.

Discernment can be a code-word for sanctioned fear or rejection of all things unfamiliar. This is just a cover for fear. It makes good-hearted Christians act like snotty mean brats. It also draws a big line in the sand, marking our right to shun and judge others.

This fear of being “polluted by the world,” caused me to view everything through a very narrow lens.

Movies were scoured for secular humanistic messages. Pop songs were judged for glorifying lust and sin and other people (even other kinds of Christians) were always “suspect.”

Well, there comes a time when you get tired of “squinting.” You get tired of fretting. You get tired of your darn closed mind…

This isn’t the “freedom” we sang about.

So I stopped “squinting.” And it has been the best move of my life. In the same way I can marvel at the beauty in a perfect spiderweb, I can also enjoy the painting made by my friend who is Muslim. I can make an extra effort to smile and genuinely engage with the transgender woman behind the counter at Walgreens, without fear, without condemnation or the need to invite her to church!

My vision not so restrictive and cynical now…

I am not God; it’s not my job to reject people. It’s okay to be fellow human.

Quoting those “heathen” musicians, The Beatles, I’ve decided to “Let it be.”

Quoting Freddy Mercury, that homosexual, “open your eyes, look up to the sky… And SEE.”

I honestly don’t think your faith will be damaged by reading Harry Potter, listening to Kendrick Lamar, having a Halloween party, or watching a movie like “Life of Pi” which alludes to Universalism…

Faith should be robust and mystical…

Not rigid and easily shattered

We really can relax.

Opening our eyes makes us wiser… It makes us kinder and more loving… It’s okay to relax and appreciate strange new things.

I’m done with “squinting.” It’s a fear based prison… And the opposite of what real faith and love ought to be. ❤