This is more a diary entry than a blog post. So if you feel like I'm talking about you, you are just more like me than you may have thought.

I have been reading, hearing, and taking part in a lot of divisive "conversations” lately. I tend to feel like I am coming from a good place, and I even often claim I am just trying to show people Jesus or the character of God, or whatever else makes me feel better about making them feel stupid for their stance.

I totally understand the desire to make people's politics, faith, sexual orientation, and even where people pee, look more like what Jesus lived. The thing I have started to realize is, I care more about being right than I do about someone feeling valued. I have been reflecting on the ideas of the adulterous woman, the tale of Zacchaeus, and so many other stories of Jesus interacting with people I would want to make feel I was right. I have realized that each person he talked to left feeling not like Jesus made good points, but that he saw them, and they felt known and loved. Even when he brought up the issues of the woman at the well, he did it so that when he showed her she was loved and worthy, she would know it wasn’t because he was ignorant of who she was.

So, I guess I am trying to act out Jesus by hopefully learning to engage with people so they feel valued. Or if that fails, I can tell a confusing anecdote and walk away.

-james

David, James and Hannah | May 2013 in Hattiesburg, MS