Coexistence in a Swampy World

Coexistence

Although definitely not a Maine photo this one is shared because it generated some shareable thoughts.

This swampy microcosm was spotted on a South Carolinian plantation while we were visiting family. Drawn to the smug almost gleeful countenance of the alligator and the naive inquisitiveness of the turtles, I immediately thought of Lewis Carroll’s poem in which the “Walrus and the Carpenter” lured some happy little oysters on a walk and then ate them and of Mary Howitt’s poem about the flattering spider who enticed a little fly into its web. But turtle shells are not very digestible and alligators’ hard exoskeleton-like skin would not be good for nibbling; so everybody appeared safe!

These dissimilar creatures were residing on the same real estate but in separate worlds, perhaps much like the preceding generations of blacks and whites who had lived on this planation before them. Although together, they were separate and isolated by hard social and economic realities and terribly hurtful, inhumane practices and prejudices and all those customs, beliefs, and values which define different social groups.

Being stiff necked and hard shelled does not allow for fruitful interaction or resolution of differences. They distance people from each other. We know that because we experience both subtle and blatant divisive influences, attitudes and behaviors today. Conflicting visions of the common good, powerful special interest group, shifting moral standards, economic policies, government overreach, and political and religious arrogance contribute to discontent, lack of civility, and the drive toward self-centeredness, entitlement, and individualism. We redefine and recalibrate truth to be situational and to mean what we want it to be; and we become delusional forgetting that truth is based on reality.

Because of our inherent differences and life experiences, we will not always share the same values or draw similar conclusions or find space for compromise. Seeking truth together requires graces we frequently lack: listening, understanding, patience, honesty, valuing others, and selflessness. That is hard work for self-assertive, self-protective fallible minds and broken spirits which require healing and transformation. But Jesus said that there is Truth.

In fact, Jesus said that he is Truth revealed. He told Pilate that he came into the world to bear witness to the truth which one would know if they listened to him (John 18:37). As we look at him, the very nature of God becomes visible. If we listen to him, the voice of God speaks. If we seek him, truth will be revealed. And if we follow him, we will begin to experience life the way it was meant to be. We will see ourselves for who we are and how much God loves us; we will find forgiveness, redemption, and peace. We will be empowered to be more, to be our “best selves,” and to discover what we have wanted all along including the promise that the best is yet to come.

As relational creatures we want to live in fellowship and peace but have flawed ideas of how to share the same place. Our imperfect human natures prevent attaining the ideal, but that does not negate the solution. If we were to look, seek, ask, and follow, we could be more than the alligator and the turtles. We could learn how to live better with each other in love and gratitude to God and with as much love for our neighbor as we have for ourselves.