Sides 2

Sides...

It seems like we can’t get away from them in this country, and the divides continue to grow. Unfortunately, the recent tragedy in Charlottesville has only served to further the divide, when it should be a catalyst for unity. But with each new tragedy, with each protest gone wrong, with each domestic act of terror (whatever the source), we cannot bring ourselves to reach across the divide to the humanity on the other side. Instead there are endless fingers pointing at who is to blame. There is condemnation from both sides for being provokers, for responding poorly and/or for retaliating inappropriately. Whatever one side does in response, it is not enough for the other side, or worse, it is deemed wrong and inflammatory. Whatever one side did previous to the tragedy, the other side somehow interprets it as complicity or instigation.

Rich

I am rich, just in case you were wondering.

I know, you are now trying to figure out how a middle school math teacher got rich. It is much more common to hear teachers complain about how underpaid they are. Come to think of it, it is quite common to hear just about everyone complain about how underpaid they are. Even if they don’t complain about being underpaid, they will at least let you know that they could live better with just a little more money. It is rare to hear someone talk about being rich, especially when they don’t appear to be “wealthy,” at least not how we picture “wealthy.” But the truth is, most of us reading this are actually rich, we just don’t often think of ourselves that way.

Many the Miles

Don’t tell anyone, but I often to listen to non-Christian music. I know, that’s bordering on heresy, but I will confess it is just one of my many weaknesses. If it is any consolation, however, I do tend to listen to the music differently than most (I think). I often find myself thinking about the artists’ lyrics in terms of how it might look in the light of Christian faith.