[Read John 4:1-29 before reading today’s lesson.]
Thanks to Rob Dillon for the inspiration for this week’s lesson which is focused on embracing people who are different than us.
As a society, we’ve developed a super-polarized mindset, especially in politics. Whereas before it was ok to have an opinion and to respect the opinions of others, it seems increasingly like we’ve moved to a mentality of “I’m right and you’re wrong”. And in some cases, “I’m right and you’re really dumb……and I believe you should suffer because you don’t share my opinion”.
As with every other weighty problem of the world, the Bible offers us a simple answer to this dilemma. We don’t have a specific verse today but, as mentioned above, please read John 4:1-29 for background on today’s lesson.
This story describes how Jesus approached a Samaritan woman at a well in a town called Sychar and spoke with her at length. In the Jewish culture of the time, it was not ok to engage with Samaritans in any way. Because the Israelite inhabitants of Samaria had intermarried with the foreigners and adopted their worship of idols, Samaritans were considered “half-breeds” and were universally despised by the Jews.
To the Jews, the Samaritans were dirty, low, and detestable but Jesus genuinely engaged this woman to try to help. Jesus was modeling good behavior for us and this story shows that we should embrace even those who are very different from us.
Sounds easy, right? So try this experiment: if you are strongly aligned politically one way or the other, picture yourself sitting down with someone on the other side of a particular issue and trying to understand their position. And don’t pick an easy issue; pick one that gets your blood boiling. Can you envision yourself saying, “Hmmmm, tell me more?” right after they proclaim that ridiculous talking point that isn’t grounded in fact but everybody on their side keeps repeating it as if it’s true?
That is probably not going to happen very often but we still have a genuine responsibility as Christians to try to make a positive difference. So where do we begin? Here are some questions for discussion:
- Compare Jesus’ approach to the way extremists treat those they disagree with.
- It has been argued that political extremists are actually worshiping the “religion” of their political beliefs. Do you agree or disagree?
- What Bible verses or stories also provide lessons on embracing people with whom we differ, be it religious, political or in general?
- The world bombards us with political messages constantly. Once we know this, how can we plan ahead to make sure we don’t let these messages distract us from the true message of Jesus?
- Do you believe that one person can change the world around them by genuinely loving all people – even those they strongly disagree with?
- Have you picked up any new insights today that we haven’t discussed yet?
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