Why Is It So Hard?

Dear Boo and Bubble,

We have just returned from a wonderful few days in Santa Fe, NM, with our dear friends Tom and Susan Heyward.  It is a beautiful part of the country…so very different geologically from where we live on the east coast…and its history has such a unique foundation in the Native American culture, which sadly seems to be all but invisible in that of the USA.

After spending time at such places as Bandelier National Monument…where we climbed the ladders to enter ancient shelters carved out of the cliffs hundreds of years ago…and visiting museums that capture the intricate details of how American Indians lived and thrived, I am nothing short of awestruck at the innate abilities and wisdom of these original inhabitants of our country. They professed and exhibited a far greater understanding of all things natural than most of us ever glean in our lifetimes. Perhaps, it's not our fault. The necessity to rely on wit for our very existence has lessened with every generation due to the advancements in society and technology. What is the point in toiling with the soil to produce your own food when you can more easily get it at the grocery store? Why look to the sky to determine your direction when the GPS does it for you? Why send smoke signals when a cell tower can reach halfway across the country? Why try to figure things out for yourself when Siri is at your fingertips? 

However, there is one area in our lives where science doesn't seem to be able to nudge us beyond the intuitive knowledge exhibited by our Native American ancestors...and that is regarding  human nature.

I purchased a small book at the gift shop while visiting the Native American Museum in Santa Fe. It is titled "The Soul Would Have no Rainbow if the Eyes Had no Tears." As I perused it this morning, I couldn't help but be struck by some of the proverbs that rose from the pages. One of them particularly caught my attention...especially in light of the horrific murder of eleven Jewish congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh just two days ago.  It is attributed to the Shawnee tribe and goes like this.

"Trouble no man about his religion--respect him and his views and demand that he respect yours."

Why is it so hard for us to do this?  Why is claiming to have the “inside track” to God so important?  I may have told you this before, but between Sugar Mountain and Elizabethton, TN, (a distance of 30 miles), there are 50 Christian churches.  That’s more than one every half mile.  Apparently, Christians can’t even agree on Christ.  The antagonism that is created by slicing and dicing His teachings to suit one’s fancy makes a mockery of them, in my opinion.  How many ways can you interpret “Love thy neighbor as thyself?”

And…all of this is only compounded when the battle expands to multiple religions.  Is it all really a competition to see whose heaven is real?  That there’s only one escalator and, by Jove, if you’re not on mine, you won’t get there?

I remember when your cousin Erika decided to marry her husband Evan.  It meant converting to Judaism from Christianity, a decision she did not take lightly.  One of her main concerns was how her father, your great uncle Bryant, would respond.  As I’ve shared with you before, he had a Divinity degree from Duke University and was an ordained Baptist minister.  His personal and professional faith was Christian.  When Erika approached him on the subject, his response was simply this—no dramatic reaction,, shock, horror or condemnation.

“As long as you have a pathway to God.  That is the only thing that matters.”

And I would add to that…recognition of your own path to God should never be diminished by the fact that someone else has chosen another.  Conversely, you should never diminish someone else’s path because of the one you’ve chosen.

Or…to reiterate the words of the Shawnee— 

"Trouble no man about his religion--respect him and his views and demand that he respect yours."

(After I wrote this, I had a question cross my mind..."How do you demand that someone respect your religion?" Demand is an interesting word. It connotes vehemence or a power to command. But, I don't think that is what the Shawnee meant. How do we "demand" respect for anything we do or are? It is not by beating someone over the head...that is submission. It is by living our religion...acting it out in our daily lives...so that someone witnessing it will ask "what makes him/her that way?" Only by being true to our principles and our faith can we demand anything of anyone else.)