Love God. Love your neighbor.
That.is.all.
These are things I try to remember say to myself before I weigh in each time I see a news story or political debate online that gets heated and intense and maybe even slightly angry or passive aggressive.
Whether I agree or disagree with what I'm seeing, it helps me to remember to keep my mouth shut (or fingers still) just a little more often than I otherwise naturally might. It is not that I don't have the opinions - of course, we all do! When I am overwhelmed seeing how much disagreement there is and it feels like nobody is listening or trying to step out of their own shoes, this is something tangible I can try to remember (and do).
Love God. Love others. L. O. V. E. (some days are easier than others)
I have never mastered those first two directives - therefore I don't need to spend much time on anything else and social media wars about my theological or political leanings - those wars don't seem to change me or anyone.
A less gentle way to say "Love God, love your neighbor", is "Less with the jaws, more with the paws."
Instead of always saying and sharing and writing our opinions - we could all (me and especially me included) just DO our opinions. (Yes, I see the irony in writing this opinion now.)
Instead of simply talking about love, we can DO love.
Instead of talking about the justice we want, we can DO justice.
Instead of just talking about mercy and grace toward the marginalized, outcast, and downtrodden, we can truly offer - or (DO) mercy and grace.
Instead of saying what we hate about the world or the way our society and our culture is changing and failing and sucking so badly, we can go DO the things that reflect our convictions. We can do them with excellence, commitment, and big/loud/persistent love.
There are well known sayings that remind us to DO (and not simply say)
1. Talk is cheap
2. Actions speak louder than words
3. Love DOES
Let us officially add to the list ...
4. Less with the jaws, more with the paws
