There are many things I just don’t understand – and may never truly comprehend.

I worked many years in politics and campaigning and I can honestly say – I just don’t understand so many things.  I don’t get the whole the “deep state” conspiracy.  I don’t understand why people are devoted to someone who would throw them under bus in an instant.  I don’t understand why the right is moving so far to the right while the left seems to lurching further to the left.  I don’t understand how character mattered a few years ago, but now it doesn’t.  I don’t understand why we are embracing the belief that the ends justify the means.

I don’t understand why American Christians claim to be followers of Jesus, but then many ignore the things he calls on followers to do.  I don’t understand why we aren’t welcoming the stranger when Jesus calls on us to do just that.  I don’t understand why we aren’t loving our enemy when Jesus tells us to do that.  I don’t understand why we aren’t favoring the poor when the Bible is full of sayings about how God favors the poor.

Yes, there are many more things I don’t understand.  To think about these things and more makes my head hurt.  It leaves me in a state of confusion.  None of it makes sense.

And that’s the thing.  It doesn’t make sense.  None of what the world is doing makes sense.

A prime example – I read an article from an author that was convinced that he had to expose the “Deep State” – that mythical secretive shadow government running everything.  I stopped reading a couple of paragraphs in when the author thought that one of the ways to expose the Deep State was to make the government more transparent.  I have no issue with transparency – I think it’s a great idea actually.  Yet, I have to laugh.  We have an administration full of people who are anything but transparent – and yet there is some kind of secret government screwing things up?  Huh?!?  That makes no sense.  Unless someone has blind loyalty and ignores the reality of what is happening.

I don’t understand because so many things just don’t make any sense.  Sense is unnecessary when there are people hellbent on being right.  It comes with many descriptors – Orthodoxy, Fundamentalism, Partisanship, infatuation with a leader, Messiahism, Etc.

The real question becomes this – what do we do going forward?  I don’t have the answers – I wish I did.  Here’s what I know.  I will speak up when I believe I can be heard.  It doesn’t always make sense to speak up – especially when your words are just going to be ignored.  I will continue to follow Jesus.  I will continue to write.  I will continue to question the insanity that the world seems engrossed in.  I will continue to seek truth.  I will continue to love and serve my neighbors.  I will continue to listen for understanding.  I will continue to talk about uncomfortable things that happen around us.  I will continue to attempt to find common ground with others.  I will continue to see the humanity of each person I encounter.  I will continue to proclaim Good News.

What will you do?