March 28th, 2021: Deception of Perceived Tolerance
I am troubled by some of the media stated that ORU should be banned from March Madness because its stand same-sex marriage. Whether we agree with ORU or not, it doesn't give us the right to condemn people because they take a different moral position than ours. Morality can only make sense when we keep having conversations about what we don't agree with one another. None of us sees the meaning of life or God fully. We only know what we believe has been revealed to us by God or what we have claimed to understand.
People have the right not to attend ORU or not to go to church. That is their prerogative. However, I don't think it is morally healthy to take away people's choices because we happen to disagree with them. The hypocrisy is troublesome. We preach inclusiveness while practicing condemnation of those who disagree with us. The intolerance towards diverse opinions about morality is perceived as openness.
We have also discovered that we live in a culture that no longer practices grace. We don't seem to be able to forgive people who made mistakes when they were younger, even though they apologized for their actions. Somehow, some people think that they deserve punishment and call for their condemnation. That is what we get when we allow the "Cancel Culture Movement" to have too much power. A growing human being will make mistakes, and none of us is exempted from that. It is our worst deception when forgiveness is impossible for some people.
Somehow morality now defines by who has the loudest megaphone or the most sophisticated social media platform. Some of these folks are now using their "power" to abuse others. We would be much better off when these folks learn how to shut up and allow others to have their voices.
Psalm 5: 9
"There is nothing reliable in what they say;
Their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave;
They flatter with their tongue."
Jeremiah 22: 17
"But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain,
And on shedding innocent blood
And on practicing oppression and extortion."