Houston, We Have a Problem; The 'Others' Are Everywhere

The Others are everywhere. They lurk around every corner, in every mall, and in every restaurant and school. They serve you at theaters, teach your kids, take your money at the bank, and pour your coffee. Can you feel it?BY BOB FABEY Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from Bob Fabey’s book NotMyJesus taken from the “Houston, We Have a Problem” chapter with permission. Fabey's commentary is also part of TogetherLA's series: How Would Jesus Vote?Can you sense the cold tingling down your spine when you think there are people out there who aren’t like you? It’s real, my friends, and if you aren’t careful, they’ll get you!They will change culture and laws, teach your kids the wrong things, infect society with their viruses, and kill the dreams of millions. They will challenge your worldview and communicate ideas you don’t like. They will vote for people you won’t vote for and push agendas you don’t agree with. Simply put, they are out to ruin you.This is how people felt about the Jews in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, and it’s what helped turn a previously respected group of people into objects. Once people are objects, it doesn’t take much for you to begin treating them as such. Ask the Rwandese what that produces. They will tell you what genocide looks like.When people are The Other, they are "less than." They are no longer someone’s child, mom, or dad. They are nothing. They have no feelings that count, no thoughts of value, no redeeming qualities or anything that could contribute to anyone. When that is the case, you can treat them any way you like. You can place them on rail cars like cattle—to begin with. And you know where this mentality leads.The truth is, we do this all the time. Maybe not literally, but in our minds. Every action begins as a seed in the mind, so those kinds of thoughts need to be challenged. Each human being has dignity. Every person on the planet deserves equal treatment, even when they disagree with you and even when they make you angry.Think about what happens when you find out your friend, co-worker, or family member voted for Trump for President. Maybe you voted for Trump, and you’ve experienced people condemning you because of it. You may have ten thousand things in common with someone, but if they vote for the wrong candidate, they are out!Maybe you vote for abortion because you believe it is the woman’s choice and you have experienced people calling you names. Perhaps you are gay, or you have gay friends, and the issues surrounding gay marriage produce conflict and Othering.Honestly, you can pick any topic and there will be someone who disagrees and who will be happy to let you know you suck because you disagree with them. Men vs. women, dogs vs. cats, Ford vs. Chevy, Mac vs. PC—disagreement occurs all the time. These disputes are producing something in us as a society that didn’t exist just a few decades ago.READ: America, Fireworks and JesusForty or 50 years back, a disagreement didn’t mean you hated someone; it meant you disagreed. Now, disagreement implies that you are full of hate, stupid, and not worthy of the skin you are outfitted with. The prevailing ethos is that if you disagree with someone, you hate them.This hate, real or perceived, drives an incredible wedge between people when name-calling, culture-bashing, and Othering is the norm. It is normal to belittle. It is normal to attack. It is normal to make fun of those who don’t agree with you. This isn’t to our credit, and once we do these things long enough and with enough ferocity, we are only steps away from cattle cars.Bob Fabey (www.bobfabey.com), author of NotMyJesus, is an Anglican priest with over 20 years of ministry experience with a variety of organizations. He holds a Master's Degree in Divinity and a B.A. in History from the University of Montana. Although Montana will always be his home, he resides in the greater Phoenix area. He loves to travel and hang out with his wife and kids, practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and drink coffee.

America, Fireworks and Jesus

I grew up during the Cold War. Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were high as each side vied for the upper hand around the globe. In a frantic effort to keep the other side from ‘winning,’ conflicts and wars would begin to stem the tide of Communism or to stop Democracy in its tracks. Threats were made, shoes were pounded, and missiles were placed. A war between the two superpowers and their thousands of nuclear weapons seemed inevitable. Then something weird happened.

BY BOB FABEY

We won.We won the Cold War. The Soviet Union collapsed seemingly overnight. The Berlin Wall, a division for so many years, was torn down. The communist countries fragmented across Europe and Central Asia. Our great enemy was defeated.For as long as I could remember, the United States was the ‘good guy.’ We were nearly always mentioned in comparison to ‘them.’ Songs like “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood made it clear. “At least I know I’m free.” Of course, that meant ‘they’ weren’t. The United States stood for freedom, independence, opportunity and apple pie. But without the great enemy, we had no one to compare ourselves to. We were the country that stepped into the gap in WWI. We courageously rebounded from Pearl Harbor to join forces with the Allies in WWII to defeat Nazi Germany and the Axis powers. We stayed firm while the Soviet Union collapsed. But who are we now?It appeared, after 9-11, we had a reason to come together, a common enemy to fight. We are discovering that terrorism isn’t defeated with bullets and bombs. It turns out that everyone is against terrorism. In that sense, we aren’t that special. We do not have a galvanizing force, a cause that unites and inspires us to rise to the occasion and it is tearing us apart.Across the board, in media, politics, the internet, and social media, we have found more that divides us than what brings us together. We are told that if we disagree, we hate. Civil discourse is a thing of the past, exchanged for shouting matches and sound bites. Fissures and cracks become chasms we can’t seem to overcome.Enter July 4th.You could argue successfully that this holiday has lost its original meaning in the same way capitalism has swallowed Christmas and Easter. You would get no pushback from me on that. Still, if we look at what July 4th means, we have a chance, if only for a brief moment, to come together as a nation. If I could choose one word to describe what it means, I would choose ‘Opportunity.’Our founding fathers wanted a land of opportunity to grow and develop without the oppression of British rule and taxation. They wrote documents, fought battles, alliances were made and broken, and the United States was born. We fought for this land and this opportunity. In fact, we fought one hundred years later, among ourselves for what this opportunity would look like. Our opportunity has been hard fought and won. It’s ours. We earned it.So what kind of opportunity does July 4th bring?Not long ago I attended a Major League baseball game. It was a beautiful summer evening, the kind perfect for baseball. There were beer, hotdogs, and people watching the game with anticipation. It couldn’t be more American. The good guys won, and after the game, the fans were treated to a beautiful firework display.Some of the crowd had slowly shuffled from the stadium but those who stayed made their way to the lower levels and waited. The first steak of light turned the crowd a strange blue color as the firework launched high over our heads. When it exploded, it was close enough for sight and sound to go together. It created a semi-circle of white with another explosion of red in the middle. Despite the fact we were staring at a Chinese invention, everyone in the stands stared in awe. Red, white and blue glory. ‘Merica.This scene was repeated over and over, with different colors and different sounds. You’ve seen it. It was amazing. For some reason, I decided to turn around and look at the crowd. What I saw left me speechless.The faces of everyone watching were tinged with a slight sense of joy and hope as they lit up with red, blue, green or white colors. I saw different economic classes sitting together. There were different races all staring into the nights’ sky hoping to see the next wonder. Different ages were transfixed as they gazed at the display.Then it hit me.This may be part of what heaven is like. All these folks, with all their differences and ideas and experiences mesmerized by what they are seeing. One thing, one person bringing peace, unity, and hope. Jesus. Could it be that part of what we experience in heaven is a sense of peace as we see our savior? It boggles the mind, but if I’m honest, I hope it contains something like that.The 4th of July brings that scene to mind each year. And each year, whenever I watch fireworks, and whoever I am with, I look at the people. I watch their faces light up with wonder and hope, and I am reminded of heaven and the hope I have in Jesus.Maybe it is a thin connection, but I think it is there. We pray “On earth as it is in heaven” in the Lord’s Prayer. I don’t think we are supposed to wait around to go to heaven. Jesus invites us to participate in revealing His Kingdom on earth, here and now. Maybe not in totality, but signs, markers and experiences of a different kingdom, a different rule, and a distinct people. Our lives are to give glimpses and flashes of something incredible, something worthy of awe and wonder. God’s people are designed to re-present him to the world.While those around us have their heads down or are mired in despair, we have the opportunity to reveal a different Way. Where there are discord and disunity, we have the opportunity to bring peace. We have the opportunity to point people in a different direction, lift their heads and help them get caught up in the beauty of God through His people. With every forgiveness offered or a kind word spoken, we flash brightly in the darkness. Every time we chose to bless and not curse, we explode against powers and principalities engulfing our lives. Whenever we lift our chins to the One who Saves, we receive the strength and power we need.If we can so bask in the glow and beauty of Christ, we can reflect Him to those around us. Christians can be the very thing this country and world needs.The 4th of July can be more than a reminder that we ‘aren’t them’ or that we won the Cold War. It doesn’t have to harken back 200 years. It can still propel us forward. We can still grasp the opportunity we have in Christ. It can be a reminder that we can be the beauty the world needs. The love of Christ is powerful enough to galvanize and unite people from across any spectrum for the purposes of God.The next time you see some fireworks and think of America, think of the opportunity you have in Christ. Seize it and watch people fall in love with the one who can transfix and heal even the greatest chasms.Bob Fabey speaks, writes, and mentors helping people to embrace their God-given dignity and give it to others in extravagant ways. An ordained minister based in Arizona, he is the host of 3rd Space Podcast and has just released the book "Not My Jesus," a humorous, yet poignant look at faith, culture and life. http://bobfabey.com/

TOGETHER LA SERIES: HOW WOULD JESUS VOTE?