Sweep Away
I love to watch KU basketball and have been a fan for several years. Although I didn’t attend the University, I still love to follow the team and invest my time doing my best to catch every game. My interest in the team is often talked about and supported by friends and family.
So, when a friend of mine gave me a hard time about being a KU fan I wasn’t surprised at first because I thought they were just playing around. However, their comment was more accusatory in nature as to why I’d want to associate myself with people who obviously didn’t value the same things I do. They couldn’t believe I’d root for a team whose fans would act in a negative way.
You see, they’d been at a KU night at a public venue and apparently the people at the event wearing KU hats and t-shirts were drinking a lot and had become belligerent. I explained to my friend that not all fans of KU act that way. He was making a sweeping judgement about all fans and tossing me into the mix.
So, when I hear the scripture story about Sodom and Gomorrah, where there were people who were pillaging and plunging, looting, and causing a great ruckus, I can’t help but think about my conversation with my friend. It actually happens pretty regularly, where people hear about negative behavior and then group together everyone who identify with or might have membership within the community.
In fact, I heard it on the news today when the newscaster was talking about the Democrats in the House of Representatives. The newscaster made a sweeping statement, clumping all of the Democrats together saying they all are supporting a specific argument. People make these general statements often, forgetting that the only thing some of the Democrats in the House of Representatives have in common is that they identify as Democrats.
Potentially the same as in my situation, where the only thing I might have had in common with those people who were belligerent is that we like to cheer for the same basketball team. However, I was being clumped in with a group of people and being judged by their behavior. You can’t assume that just because someone identifies as being from some place or practicing a specific religion or roots for a sports team that they are good or bad.
Abraham is good to remind us of that fact. Abraham told God that He could not destroy the cities because of the bad things that were happening; there would be innocent bystanders that would be destroyed as well. This message is especially important to remember these days when there are some very hot button topics rolling around. When you hear things like gun control or abortion slipping into conversation, often times you also hear some generalized statement, stereotyping and profiling people who may or may not fit into the mold. It is just good practice for everyone to pause and think before making any sweeping judgements.
When reading the scripture, some might think that God is being harsh and can’t believe He’d even consider destroying His own people. However, the interaction between God and Abraham is not about what God is saying, it is Abraham coming to understanding that there is good in all things, even when all you see is despair. God wanted Abraham to learn that when you make a sweeping judgement about people, places or things, that you can cause more harm than good.
This lesson God is teaching Abraham is one everyone should learn. Now, because you can’t change other people, you can only change yourself, take time today to ask God to reveal to you any places in your life where you are making sweeping judgments about individual or groups of people. Then ask Him to help you remove the limited belief from you so you can be more open to seeing the good, rather than the bad.
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