Dr. Seuss, in recent public debate, has posthumously fallen out of favor for illustrations and writings considered to be racially offensive and insensitive in his children’s books. Regardless of the veracity or lack thereof that many espouse on both sides as to his presumed intentions, other Seuss offerings seem absent controversy.
For example, Dr. Seuss is credited with the following insightful quote, “Sometimes the questions are complicated, and the answers are simple.” There is little to argue here; it is a truism that we often over analyze a concern when the simplest answer not only suffices but is prescribed.
For the contrarian, though, this may be an affirmation and source of dismay regarding supposed wide-ranging societal ignorance. One such person might profess that the only possible answer to a question is the one in which all angles are explored, every bias accounted, and every meaning left to intellectual jurists. Perhaps.
What is true is that, increasingly, historical revisionism is a means to adjudicate current grievances by proof-texting norms and mores long ago settled from the current societal ethos. In other words, nothing has changed for those seeking a redress of perceived past and ongoing injustice even when substantial precedence and evidence is to the contrary.
Additionally, the extent to which some manifest their hostility to any perceived mistreatment, both past and present, is a source of rancor for those deemed complicit and implicated in the current suffering of the victimized group(s).
The topics of societal grievance, victimhood, and injustice are but a few of the challenges we face. However, there is a simple answer.
One of the most famous biblical passages utilized at weddings is found in a letter by the Apostle Paul, a Jewish convert to Christianity in the first century. It is his counsel regarding loving one another.
You may recall the writing, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
If we can agree it is better to love than hate, regardless of the complexity of the issues, then it is reasonable to ask what love looks like in its simplest form. It need not be more problematic than practicing the above list of interpersonal conduct with one another.
For example, I do not need to know your motivations to express patience. Dishonoring you will not make me a better person. I take no pleasure in discord and I am willing to assist you and to protect your rights, hopes, and dreams. Given a chance, my guess is that you would do the same for me.
The answer is simple: love one another.
Kent Simmons is the pastor of Canyon Community Church in Kingman, AZ. He can be reached at kent@canyon-church.com