Iranian nuclear deal, Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, Educations
funding... it seems that a lot of things are getting done and that nobody is
really happy about any of them. You hear a lot of language like, “It’s the best
we could do.” Or, “Something is better than nothing.” Or, “It’s a small step.”
Whatever the verbiage, it is clear that a lot of the decisions being made aren’t
triumphs of right over wrong or best over worst or good over bad. I would say
that a awful lot of what is happening is far from either black or white and is
caught somewhere in a shade of gray.
I don’t like gray. I like back and white, this or that, clearly
right or clearly wrong. I want to see something, read something, learn about
something and then know for sure if it is the correct thing or not. I have been
indoctrinated into a worldview that says there is a clearly discernible right
answer and wrong answer. I have been nurtured on the concept that one is evil
and the other good. I have been programmed to accept only a clear yes or no. I
have been told that things are either black or white. And my experience has
shown me that all there really are are shades of gray. I want one or the other –
the best or the worst and I want to pick between those two options. The problem
is that there are infinite choices on the spectrum from best to worst and often
times the choice I have is between something that is bad and something that isn’t
quite as bad. It is a choice between shades of gray.
In addition to the spectrum of choices placed before me
there are also so many points of view, so much evidence, and a pantheon of
experts to speak authoritatively on the subject all being pressed upon me to
try and help me make my choice. With so many shades of gray and the possibility
that finding the distinction between them is nigh on to impossible for an
uninitiated novice I am always feeling unease about supporting something or
opposing it for that matter. Life is complicated enough without my feeling
inadequate in taking positions on relevant and important subjects.
So what do I do? How do I live with all these shades of
gray? How is it that I find a way to voice support for or opposition against
something? First I try to educate myself a little bit on what the subject is. I
know I will never have the time, expertise or energy to do much in the way of in-depth
research but I still can spend a little of myself trying to get a handle on the
subject. Then I check out who is for and against it. I know who it is I trust
to have the interests of the wider spectrum of people in mind and who doesn’t.
I also know that some folks are more interested in getting something, however
small and inadequate, done that they will support something that is grayer. I talk to friends and family that I respect
and whose opinions I value. I pray about it, seeking God’s wisdom and the still
small voice that is there trying to help me live faithfully.
And this works except when the subject is finely nuanced or
my guides are divided or the opinions I trust aren’t speaking with one voice.
When this is the case I usually make my stand based on one simple question, who
does this seem to help the most and who does it seem to hurt the most? My
support always goes to whatever is hurting the poor, minority, disenfranchised,
or common person the least or helping them the most. One way I test this is to
see how it impacts me and my life. As part of the world’s ultra-wealthy
minority if it costs me more, if it limits my choices, if it cuts into my
profits, if it makes my life just a bit harder while at the same time it gives
the vast majority of people a little more, eases the damage to our planet, and
brings a small amount of relief to the poor and powerless then I support it. I
guess I mean it when I pray, “Thy will be done.”
But the truth is I had the shades of gray!
Dear God, help me live with the shades of gray in life. Help
me to listen for your wisdom and to make choices that help others over helping me.
I pray for the poor and powerless and ask that improving their lives might
become the standard by which all choices are made. Amen.
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