Bright Spot: We must take steps to strengthen our 'bridges'

What would make an army blow up their own costly bridge of strategic significance? They would if their enemies intended to use it to further their own war effort.

That’s exactly what happened in the Ukraine-Russia conflict several years ago.

The same thing is happening in the war of words in our own beloved country. It’s not just politics that cause big “explosions.” It’s moral issues like abortion, the environment, fair wages, vaccinations, and even WNBA super star Caitlin Clark, for heaven’s sake. The haters are taking their cues from jealous WNBA players who feel Clark hasn’t earned her accolades yet.

All over our planet “bridges” are being blown up. Bridges that used to unite people, like sports, no longer do.

We demonize our opponents. We refuse to believe their sources of truth, sources that were once deemed reliable by the vast majority. For example, people I know took every word their doctors said as gospel and scientific fact before the pandemic started to question everything that came out of their beloved physicians’ mouths, like the need for masks and vaccines.

Is there any hope for unity once again? I see three options.

First, we can “circle the wagons.” We simply exclude anyone from friendship or our “tribe” who doesn’t agree with us. This is easy ... and costly.

Second, we “agree to disagree.” We just avoid all touchy topics. Another easy option, but risky.

What makes the first two options risky and costly? They don’t allow the possibility of finding truth together on a higher and better level. What a novel thought? Collaboration and cooperation vs. competition and condemnation.

Jesus always took those better ways. The Buddhists, ironically not Christ followers, always look for a “third way.” Jesus elevated tense conversations with people who wanted truth only on their terms. When they questioned Jesus about divorce (Matthew 19:1-9; Genesis 2:24), the religious leaders of Jesus’ day wanted to frame the conversation around the symptoms, not the cause, of divorce. Jesus took the talking points way back to God’s original design for marriage in Genesis 2. There, two individuals became one so they could be whole, happy, and more like Him TOGETHER. A “mystery” for sure, the apostle Paul called it (Ephesians 5:32).

The third option takes way more time and energy. It’s costly in many ways, but it gives us the chance to rebuild bridges and therefore relationships. The third way means we talk through the issues until we move from friction which causes heat and then pain, to light and love. This results in a clearer understanding of the facts which had been cloudy before.

The conversation has to be civil. Each side must seek convince based on merit vs coercion based on might. It requires asking lots of good questions (when we’d rather make declarative statements), then lots of listening to the answers (when we would all rather talk). Option three takes humility, and we are a proud species.

The third way isn’t easy, but it’s better. Ancient Israel avoided a civil war by simply sending some of their best people to sit down face to face and TALK to one another about their disagreements. We don’t have any clue from the text in Joshua 22 how long that bridge took to build, but the avoidance of costly war was well worth it.

What “wars” will you prevent by conversation versus coercion; by building bridges instead of blowing them up?

Rick Sams is pastor emeritus of Alliance Friends Church.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pastor Rick Sams says we must return to strengthening our 'bridges'