Reflection
We have become skilled at avoiding practically all interaction with those with whom we disagree…we have the ingredients for a culture polarized by the perception that we are good and virtuous, while they are inhuman and evil. The law professor John A. Powell…calls this “othering” and has shown that it leads to hatred and discrimination. But on the odd occasion that people are exposed to each other as people…othering is hard to maintain. And that is the rare moment when human compassion and empathy can break out.
Arthur C. Brooks
Prayer
Love one another as I have loved you.
Action
Do you find yourself “othering”? How can you change this?
Suggested Reading
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
John 15:12
Love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable. They are two sides of the same coin: lived together they are the true strength of believers!
Pope Francis
At its most basic level, the everyday practice of being with other people is the practice of loving the neighbor as the self.
Barbara Brown Taylor
When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.
Joseph Campbell
No human race is superior; no religious faith is inferior. All collective judgments are wrong. Only racists make them.
Elie Wiesel
We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring.
Catherine Pulsifer
We find comfort among those who agree with us – growth among those who don’t.
Frank A. Clark
Let’s invite one another in. Maybe then we can begin to fear less, to make fewer wrong assumptions, to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us.
Michelle Obama
The older I get, the more I believe that the greatest kindness is acceptance.
Christina Baker Kline
The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.
Nathaniel Branden
I think it’s important to remember that Christianity was based in love and tolerance and forgiveness and acceptance.
Kristin Chenoweth