Author Archives: iamchrisgilmore

Violence cannot kill an idea.

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Art: “Change your mind” by  Anton Polushin

Violence cannot kill an idea. Thoughts cannot be shot, beaten, or bombed out of existence. When terror is employed, behaviors may change, but convictions seldom will.

From righteous causes like the US Civil Rights Movement to heinous beliefs like militant religious extremism, violence against ideas only emboldens them. Martyrs are made, injustice is perceived, others rally to the effort. Folks find justification for their cause, dig in further, and the idea is passed on.

If we want to change beliefs and values (and there are plenty worth changing), it takes much more work than violence is willing to do because violence is lazy and unimaginative.

Changing hearts and minds takes time and proximity and commitment. It takes shared spaces and vulnerability. It takes demonstrating why we think our position is more faithful, true, and good and requires that we hold our ideals consistently. It might just take care and concern for all parties involved.

This way is, of course, slower and messier and much more effort and cost, but there are no shortcuts to a better world.

This is the only way that is sustainable and the only way that leads to the peace and flourishing our world desperately aches for. May we be the ones who lead the way.

On moral consistency.

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Have you noticed how quickly we can forsake our stated values in the quest for power and control?

Like, who cares about government overreach when you can take over a city whose leadership you don’t like?

Who cares about the constitution or due process when ignoring them makes it easier to get rid of people I deem inconvenient?

Who cares about human trafficking as long as you promise to hate the people I hate?

Who cares about loving my neighbor or caring for the poor if doing so means I can’t get a tax break or cheaper eggs?

Who cares about serial infidelity, constant lying, or the degrading of anyone who doesn’t fit a particular mold, as long as we get to rule with an iron fist?

Who cares about how we get things done or who we hurt or what things we have to excuse as long as I get what I get what want?

Who cares as long as I benefit? As long as I’m part of the group in control? As long as I get more comfortable?

Yes, values and priorities can change (and we should be honest when they do), but if we find that moral consistency is a roadblock to getting what we want, we need to seriously reflect on what matters most and where we find our center. If our stated values are in the way of where we are going, it is the destination that should be abandoned, not the values.

Abandoning our principals or justifying the unjustifiable in pursuit of power is a death sentence for our souls. And potentially for the institutions and organizations we claim to love. It doesn’t get us to a better future faster. It unmoors us – sets us adrift into chaos and violence and turns us over to whatever feels good now.

This is not the way, friends. There are no shortcuts to a better world.

May we find our values, again. May we be people of consistency who refuse to be swayed by all that is shiny and promises us comfort or control. May we be people of courage and conviction who will not be moved even if it costs us. And may we find ourselves building the better world simply by being true to what matters most.

Hosanna.

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On Palm Sunday a lot of people wanted Jesus to save them. That’s what “hosanna” means – save us now.

The people wanted Jesus to save them from economic hardship, to save them from their political rivals, to save them from powerlessness. To restore them to the good old days. To conquer and vanquish their enemies. To make them great again.

But Jesus wasn’t interested in any of that. He wasn’t trying to establish a Christian nation. He wasn’t concerned with wealth or seats of political power or passing laws to enforce his worldview. Jesus wasn’t trying to build a holy version of empire.

He still isn’t.

By Friday he will be abandoned by all but a few, because who wants to follow a guy who won’t take up the sword against evil? Who wants to follow someone who would willingly surrender, turn the other cheek, lay down his rights? Who would rather die than kill?

Not very many. At least then.

Or perhaps now.

Perhaps we too have abandoned Jesus and his way, despite claiming we want him to save us.

And perhaps the thing we most need Jesus to save us from is our lack of imagination beyond the halls of power and bank account balances and the ability to control. We need saved from the lie that the only way to change the world is through violence or threats of it. Or the lie that clinging to our life is the only way to keep it. We need saved from a hunger for greatness that looks more like gilded palaces and less like the washing of feet.

Jesus is remaking the world through kindness and gentleness, peace and joy, service and selflessness. Through inclusion and community and healing and shared meals. Through the way of the cross and the holy love of God.

He redefines what it means to be strong and faithful and just. In the upside-down Kingdom of God the last are first and the small are mighty and the meek inherit the earth. Here the poor are our siblings and the lines we’ve drawn around ourselves or others are erased.

This is where salvation is found. This is where life conquers death. This is where all is made new.

The question is, do we believe it? Are our actions, attitudes, priorities, conversations, and everything else informed by this truth? Will they be moving forward? Come Friday will we look more like the faithful few at the foot of the cross or like those who would sooner insult, condemn, trample, or crucify any who get in the way?

Hosanna, indeed. God save us from ourselves and our lack of faith. God save us now.