Welcome to 2020!!! And so we begin. . .
With the ringing in of every New Year’s Eve comes the call to reflect on the previous year. If ever there was an approaching new year, literally asking us to reflect, it would be 2020.
What is the most important thing you know walking into 2020?
The number itself is shorthand for perfect vision. For seeing things clearly and as they really are. It’s also synonymous with hindsight, which by definition is, “the knowledge and understanding of an event only after it has happened”.
The irony is that while we are moving forward numerically, we are being tasked to take with us some clarity from the past.
So, as we head into 2020, what do you see clearly now that you haven’t before? What events or experiences have you had that have gifted you with a newfound understanding of yourself or others? What are some things you know now for sure that are going to change how you live your life in the coming days?
Here’s the most important thing I know walking into 2020 . . .
It doesn’t matter what else we do well, if we are not loving people well.
Knowing what to believe today can be challenging, especially when so many voices are constantly claiming different versions of truth. Technology provides us with an endless supply of opinions from the media, politicians, celebrities, and leaders in the faith community. Many of those voices are telling us we are free to believe whatever we choose. That seems to work well . . . right up until the point that we disagree.
Our nation seems incapable right now of practicing what it preaches. We all claim to know that we need to treat everyone with kindness and be respectful of those who believe differently than we do. But more often than not, that theology only extends to those who share the same ideas, beliefs, skin color, and political views as we do.
When we stop and think about it, there’s nothing “extra” we do when we are kind to people who are just like us. How hard is it? There’s something about you I like about me. It really requires nothing from us.
But to choose to be kind to someone we strongly disagree with? Someone who opposes things we really care about? Someone who seems to purposely push our buttons and if we’re honest, we feel is 100% wrong?
Those are the moments we have an opportunity to make a real difference in the world.
To actually be different than what the world is currently offering up. It’s easy to say we want things to change, but until we choose to do something different, we can be sure to get more of the same.
So, I’m not sure if you already know this . . . lol . . . but if you disagree with someone on social media, especially someone popular or influential, you need to be prepared for a potential public shaming.
Unfortunately, we have all been witness to what happens to someone on the wrong side of public opinion. This is neither a new observation nor topic that hasn’t already been addressed. But it is an ongoing problem with no foreseeable solution in sight.
Some of us may have even experienced this first-hand. Or maybe we’ve even been the ones doing the shaming. Regardless of the roles we have or haven’t played, we all know it needs to stop. The lack of civility is exhausting.
So, how do we change things? Where do we go from here? How do we collectively encourage people to continue important conversations without fear of saying the wrong things? To not be afraid to use our voices for fear of retaliation. How should we respond when we are accused of asking the wrong questions when our true intention was seeking greater understanding?
2020 is asking us to look back and consider our actions.
I think we can all agree on a few things right from the start. All of us need to take responsibility for facilitating respectful conversations. We need to hold ourselves accountable. We need to decide in public spaces, just as in our private lives, that it’s far more important to be kind that it is to be funny, snarky, self-righteous, or any other adjective that would cause anyone else to feel devalued.
We need to honestly ask ourselves during each interaction whether or not we would say the same thing if the person were sitting across from us, face to face.
Think about what would happen if all of us owned this in 2020. If each of us would commit to measuring and weighing each and every world before it left our mouths. If we would listen to that voice inside us questioning if what we just typed is really what we want to put out into the world. If it’s really what we want others to know about who we are.
Everyone has something to say. Everyone has shareworthy thoughts and feelings with the capacity to help and encourage others. But everyone also has the capacity to be hurtful with their words. We say we know these things, but simply knowing something isn’t enough. We need to infuse our actions with that knowledge. We need to realize that sometimes backspace and delete are the most important keys on the keyboard.
Many of the problems we face in society today stem from people believing and communicating to others, directly or indirectly, they are “less than” in some way. That includes what we tell ourselves. Poor self-esteem, verbal attacks, racism, and everything in between stems from not believing the truth about the value of ourselves or one another.
So, maybe that’s where we need to start. With the truth. Our baseline of change needs to be a foundation built on what is true, about ourselves and each other.
The truth is that our worth is not determined by what we or anyone else thinks of us.
Our value is God given.
My prayer and challenge for all of us is one in the same as we head into 2020 . . . may we all see ourselves and one another the way God sees us. I’ll share more about how I think we can do that in the next couple of posts.
Wishing you and your loved ones every blessing in the year ahead!
hindsight 
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