“For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
At one point during the past election season as I was reading opposing views of a particularly contentious issue, I made an effort to find some common ground. What I hit on was fear. Both sides were afraid that what might happen would affect them in a negative way. Each side saw that if the other prevailed, that they, or those they cared about, would be seriously hurt. They each focused on their own fears without seeing that the other side was just as fearful, but of a different outcome that could have just as detrimental an affect on them. The arguments of each side were more to convince the other that the fears of their particular group were somehow more legitimate or serious, especially if that group could be seen as victims.
My hope in seeking a common ground was to find some principle upon which both sides could unite – something they could feel they had in common. If both sides could see that they really feared the same basic things – and desired the same things – you would think that they might feel some common concern. We might hope that fear could unite opposing sides out of some sense of compassion, but the reality is much scarier.
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