'Be with those who help your being'

“Be with those who help your being.” Rumi gave the world a lot of good one liners, but this is one of my favorites. Those who help my being are often people I admire. They tend to be loving, caring, optimistic, ethical, peaceful folks I want to be around and who I wish to be like. Sometimes those who help my being are a bit more tricky. They appear different from me, disagreeing with me, and challenging me to grow by seeing life through their eyes.

Comfort and challenge are needed for ongoing development.

I was troubled by a recent story about how listening primarily to those we agree with supports radicalization. Fareed Zakaria, author, journalist, and foreign affairs commentator for CNN, told how he had been the focus of a nasty and utterly untrue web post. He was accused of encouraging jihadi’s to impregnate white women to destroy the white race. You might think such an incredible accusation would be seen for what it was, but instead, it went viral among people who were willing to spread such hateful rumors. It didn’t take long for a stranger to be calling his home late one night and frightening his young daughters. Zakaria has written about the ordeal on his website, “Bile, Venom and Lies: How I was Trolled on the Internet” at fareedzakaria.com, posted January 15, 2016.

In his article, Zakaria reminds us of a psychological experiment performed in 1970 and written about by Elizabeth Kolbert in the New Yorker. Students were given a questionnaire about prejudice and divided into two groups based on having high or low scores. Then each group discussed controversial racial issues and later given the questionnaire once more. Kolbert wrote, “Simply by talking to one another, the bigoted students became more bigoted and the tolerant more tolerant.” “This type of polarization and resulting extremist radicalization is what our world is experiencing, ‘at hyper speed,’ with the technological advancements of social media”, says Zakaria. Unfortunately, we lack safeguards to sort fact from fiction and spreading unfounded rumors and lies is having wider impact than ever before.

How will we combat the temptation to spread information that is misleading, but supportive of our own beliefs, especially during the political season we are in the midst of? Where will continued polarization take our nation?

During the upcoming season of Lent, beginning Ash Wednesday, February 10th, our church will participate in an interfaith study inspired by Pope Francis’ “Year of Encounter.” Encountering others and listening to their stories is one way to pause the rhetoric we acquire by only being with those who are most like us. Come and be open to encountering others and to “Be with those who help your being.”

Blessings to you, Pastor Nancy

About Tehachapi Congregational Church:

No matter who you are, no matter where you are on life’s journey, you’re welcome here!

The Tehachapi Congregational Church is an open and welcoming community of faith that believes that each person, created in the image of God, holds a piece of the truth. Therefore we respect each person’s unique spiritual journey. We invite you to experience the difference that religious freedom in a caring community can make in that journey.

We are located at 100 East E St., in Tehachapi.

Worship and Sunday School are at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays. Please join us for coffee and fellowship at our Friendship Hall after worship (approximately 11:30 a.m.). All are welcome.