by John Michael Heard, Opinion Contributor
These are difficult times. The coronavirus has left disaster in its wake. One of the lesser talked about issues to emerge out of the storm’s wreckage has gained little attention. I’m referring to a second pandemic, still wreaking havoc in our nation and locally; a pandemic of disdain.
Disdain is an ugly thing. It hides in dark crevices and punishes in secret. It does not rear its head in public unless it knows it will be in good company and safe to sap the blood of any victim.
It spreads like a virus, like the recent pandemic. But unlike the pandemic, disdain thrives in staunchly isolated communities. It whispers: “He isn’t wearing a mask. How could anyone be so stupid?” and, “She’s sick? Ha! See, her vaccine didn’t work.”
No matter where you might stand on the political spectrum, chances are you have tasted disdain’s savory poison on your lips. Disdain feels good for a moment — drinking our enemies’ blood is enlivening. We feel righteous—godlike. “They deserved it,” we tell ourselves. And others might agree. But where does it lead?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus demonstrates to us the problem of disdain. He compares it to a man trying to take a splinter out of his brother’s eye when there remains a log in his own eye. “You hypocrite!” He says, “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matt. 7:1-5, NIV) According to his illustration, we are only permitted to correct our neighbors after we deal with the reality of our own sin.
Jesus’ sage remarks certainly diagnose part of the problem in our country today. Most people like to bear the burden of responsibility during seasons of flourishing. But as soon as evil prevails, we are swift to neglect, dodge, distract and blame others for what has gone wrong. None of us want to acknowledge our part in the evil around us. As a result, the world continues to burn.
Sadly, the Church in the West is no exception to this trend. While we have traditionally been quick to emphasize the personal salvation and freedom from sin purchased for us through Christ’s crucifixion, we are slower to speak about the practical demand that very salvation makes on how we treat our neighbors and posture ourselves toward the evil in the world. If there is any hope for the Church in the West, it must begin with an embodied love for our enemies, a laying down of rights, and a steadfast trust in God’s judgment during these troubling times.
Father Zosima, in Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, paints an apt picture of humility and responsibility. “There is only one salvation for you: take yourself up, and make yourself responsible for all the sins of men…” he said. “Whereas by shifting your own laziness and powerlessness onto others, you will end by sharing in Satan’s pride and murmuring against God.”
When we try “shifting [our] own laziness and powerlessness onto others,” we exhibit a form of spiritual pride — as though our ideas/principles/political beliefs are rights and not gifts from God. The alternative is to learn to “make yourself responsible for all the sins of men,” and that is precisely the example Christ set for those who follow him. Although God was not responsible for the evils afflicting the world, he became the victim of our disdain and was crushed for our iniquity so that He might redeem all creation.
Disciples of Jesus should learn to imitate Christ in this way. Rather than whispering in the dark about those who oppose our perspectives, ideals, and beliefs, we should love our enemies because we understand that we were once enemies of God.
We should seek to discover what circumstances in their lives have led them to believe what they do and relentlessly pursue mutual understanding. Even in the legitimate sins of our adversaries, followers of Jesus should be quicker to weep for them than slander and condemn them. When disdain slips through our lips, it is evidence that we have misunderstood God’s grace and that our hearts are not aligned with his.
Disdain should have no place in the heart and mind of the disciple. When we are disdainful, we shed all responsibility and curse God and his world. The alternative posture Jesus lived out we ought to embrace as our own. As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:10, “We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
When we take responsibility for evil in the world, we challenge it and pave the way for many others to find new life. So let us purge disdain from among us, and rather than conspire against our enemies, let us plead to God on their behalf.
