Human or Headline?
Have you ever heard the song, “Human”, by the Killers? It’s one of their most popular songs and includes a really interesting lyrical question, “Are we human or are we dancer?” As catchy as the melody is, the lyric simply doesn’t make sense at first glance. However the author of the song, Brandon Flowers, was interviewed and asked what inspired this infamous line. He responded with his influence, a quote from the writer, Hunter S. Thompson, “We’re raising a generation of dancers, afraid to take one step out of line.”
Simply put, the line comes more alive with the context of knowing what the question implies. Are we humans, capable of creativity and imagination, or ‘dancer’, robots stuck in the boxes of legalism and perfectionism?
I don’t know about you, but I have recently felt more of the tension of not wanting to step out of line, or more so, not wanting to step on toes in conversation. It seems to me that it’s so easy for phrases to be taken out context, thoughts to be polarized into political and religious camps, and for us to not see each other as human but as headlines. In other words, my question is, “Are we human or are we headlines?” Are we able to see one another as human beings or categorized groups based off the most recent headline we’ve read or clickbait we’ve been drawn into? Are we recognizing and treating people based on our common humanity or dividing from and reacting to one another according to whatever statements the talking heads have thrown forth that day?
I bring this up not to point fingers but to collectively usher an encouragement for the people of God to get grounded in a few things. In fact, I would say these ‘headlines’ should define the way that we answer the question and respond to the fellow humans around us.
Headline #1: God Created Humanity in His Image
In Genesis 1:26-28, there is a depiction of the very essence of humanity. The author writes, “26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Very simply stated, this amazing passage from the Creation account reveals some basic tenants to our understanding of humans. It was God’s idea to make humans, and to make them in His image and likeness. It was God who created humanity as male and female in His own image and it was God who blessed these human beings.
Of course, we know from Genesis 3 about “The Fall” of humanity in which sin, disobedience, and broken relationship enter the story. Yet, here’s something that’s so pivotal to recognize in the story: humanity’s worth to the Lord never stopped. In fact, I would argue that the way in which the story of God progresses, there’s only more of a revelation of the innate value and worth of each human being to the Lord. The amount of struggle, unfaithfulness, idolatry, division, violence, and ridiculousness that Israel chooses reveals the incredibly real and painful reality of our fallenness. AND the overwhelmingly exuberant amount of times that God’s faithfulness is demonstrated to this group of people and all of humanity reveals the beautifully glorious truth of our worth to the Lord.
It’s not that God needs us, or our worship, or anything that we can bring to the table. It’s that God so loves us that He gave to us the gift of salvation, reconciliation, connection, eternal relationship, and so much more (Jn. 3:16, Gal. 3:28-4:7, Rms. 8:15, Col. 1, Eph. 1). To further prove this, it was because of His love for us that even while we were in sin, He demonstrated His affection for us through His birth, life, death, and resurrection (Rms. 5:8). This is actually how we know what love is: God sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for sin (1 Jn. 3:16).
It is because of this love that we know we have worth. Think about this way. How much was paid for the price of your life? The Son of God, right? So, how much is Jesus worth? He is limitlessly, eternally, incomprehensibly, and absolutely priceless. And yet, He was the price for you and me. That makes us how much? You guessed it… priceless.
What if this was the viewpoint we carried into our everyday lives? What if this was the headline we saw each person through? “Beloved Creation”, “Worth the Price of Jesus”, “Priceless Masterpiece”, “Made in God’s Image”, “Supernaturally Formed”, “Eternally Loved”, etc. All of these headlines are completely true and far outweigh the other lenses through which we see people.
Let me leave you with a thought that can be a practical step. In the famous “hall of faith” of Hebrews 11, the author tells us about Moses’ parents included in the list of many others who acted by God’s faithfulness and their trust in Him. We read, “By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict (Heb. 11:23).”
Did you see it? I may have added some emphasis… Moses’ parents saw that he was no ordinary child. Imagine if they looked at him like the headlines in those days. Imagine if he was just another Hebrew boy that would be put to death by the Egyptians. Imagine if they looked at him according to a worldly lens and definition. Yet, his parents saw something different and they treated him in a special manner because of that vision. That’s good news for the Israelites and ultimately, all believers today.
What about for us? Are we seeing people as human, made in the image of God, as no ordinary child, and full of the worth that Christ exemplifies, or are we identifying people based on our filters, news headlines, and judgments? Are we treating one another like we’re worth, or are we speaking to, thinking about, and reacting towards each other from another perspective?
I’m not saying we can’t hold opinions, recognize differences, or that we should throw away histories. In fact, I would say that these things all help us understand each other better. All I’m saying is that if we paused to reflect on the image of God in each person and the immense worth that we all carry because of what God has revealed in Christ Jesus, we might see a different way forward in the midst of our divided, broken, and polarized world.
A few practical points:
Ask the Lord how He sees the people around you. What is God’s headline over them regardless of what they’ve said or done?
Before responding or reacting to others, ask yourself if what you’re about to do or say will treat another person like they were worth the price of Jesus.
Ask for story. We might continue to silo ourselves further away, but proximity destroys polarization. Get close, ask questions, hear the story. Even if you don’t agree, you can still choose love. After all, that’s a much better headline (Disagreement Doesn’t Divide) than what we read everyday.
Headline #2: God Set the Table in the Presence of Enemies
Psalm 23 is a well-known praise of David celebrating God as the Shepherd who leads, helps, provides, anoints, and does many wonderful things for His sheep. One of these actions is setting the table for us in the presence of our enemies. In the past, I’ve read this Psalm and thought about it through the eyes of David who at many times was actually surrounded by real physical enemies: military, Saul, people in disagreement with him, other national leaders, etc. And yet, there is still the proclamation of the Lord setting the table for him in the presence of those attacking.
As I think about this today, although the Lord is able to unite the divided and bring all to the common meal of His body and blood together, we are more likely to push away those who don’t think, act, vote, speak, or live like us. Those “enemies” we may experience or even those who aren’t enemies, but those holding differing opinions, are not invited to join us at the table the Lord has set for ALL.
In other words, I believe we’ve lost the ability to share Christian hospitality with one another. Of course, the many shutdowns across the world have not aided to the hosting of others physically, but even more so, we have lost our ability to create space for others to simply be.
Our polarization is causing poor hospitality. Rather than greeting each other in the name of the Lord we are greeting in the name of our cause. Rather than seeing the worth of each creation we see the headline we’ve written onto them. Rather than setting our eyes on Jesus and His vision, we are stuck with foggy lenses full of temporary perspective.
What if we flip the script on this narrative and returned to the incredible practice of hospitality today? Henri Nouwen defines Christian hospitality like this: “Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. It is not to bring men and women over to our side, but to offer freedom not disturbed by dividing lines. It is not to lead our neighbor into a corner where there are no alternatives left, but to open a wide spectrum of options for choice and commitment. It is not an educated intimidation with good books, good stories, and good works, but the liberation of fearful hearts so that words can find roots and bear ample fruit….The paradox of hospitality is that it wants to create emptiness, not a fearful emptiness, but a friendly emptiness where strangers can enter and discover themselves as created free….not a subtle invitation to adopt the life style of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find his own.”
One of the beautiful keys to this definition of hospitality is the recognition that we cannot change one another. The moment I let go of my need to change, save, control, or demand others is the moment I can practice true hospitality. This is the creation of space for people to come to the table, share a meal, and choose love in the midst of the many divisions and disagreements. This is an opportunity for us to value one another, to see and celebrate each others’ differences, and ultimately, to find unity together in the common meal: Jesus.
I think this is so important that I would even say when we come to the table together it’s the only place that enemies can truly become friends. How about that for a headline? “Enemies Become Friends After Common Meal”… And ultimately, this is what the meal the Lord has given to us does… it takes us, the enemies of God, and provides us the gracious transformation of being called friends of God.
I’m not saying everybody has to agree, or look the same, or talk the same. After all, unity is NOT uniformity. I am saying that hospitality is an antidote to our issue of viewing through the headlines, and I believe when we create space for one another, the Lord fills that space with hope, freedom, and connection.
A few practical things to ponder:
How do I actively host others and how can I grow my muscle for hospitality?
Do the people I host look, sound, talk, and act like me, or do I have space to invite others who don’t look, sound, talk, or act like me?
How can I participate in the meal the Lord is preparing before me and others everyday?
Headline #3: Shockingly, Christianity IS Filled with Tension
Recently, I was in a conversation with somebody about a very difficult passage of Scripture to interpret and apply in our lives and context. Something we both acknowledged and decided to sit in was the tension that we could only know and believe from our limited capacity and we’d have to trust the Lord for the other pieces.
This is drastically different than the world and culture around us that consistently vies to know it all, earn it all, and prove it all. Now, I’m not saying we shouldn’t study, work, or present our viewpoints. In fact, we should be like the Bereans who searched the Scriptures (Acts 17:11) and we should actively live lives worthy of the calling we’ve received (Phil. 1:27). However, I am saying that when we acknowledge the reality that we are finite and we don’t have all the answers, we can experience a much greater liberty than trying to strive, defend, and pretend our way to a temporary feeling of freedom or victory.
In short, one of the most liberating postures we can take in our lives is that of humility. It’s the acknowledgement that there are mysteries we can’t solve, things we can’t know, places we can’t go, and activities we can’t do. Sometimes recognizing our limitations frees us to become more present, more understanding, and more connected with the One who is limitless, and more connected to those that we’ve kept out because of our inability to accept the tension.
This doesn’t sit well with many, and that’s okay. I’ve gotten more and more used to the tension. Some people want the immediate result or resolution. Others don’t care if matters are resolved. Some must read it all while others are too exhausted to research another topic. I believe the more we can press into the tension, the more we can wait for the Lord in the midst of the polarization, and the more we can yield ourselves to move with the Spirit, the better prepared we will be in this current climate.
The headlines promote biased news flashes designed to create divides, fear, anger, and other emotions. But this headline, “Christianity IS Filled with Tension”, empowers us to recognize another way forward. This is the tension of saying that as Christians we don’t follow the ‘donkey’ or ‘elephant’, but rather we follow the Lamb. This is the tension of holding things that cross political persuasions, that don’t make sense according to the categorized groups of today’s world, and that ultimately call us forward into a more hopeful and united future in the One that holds us while we are in tension.
I write this because as a Christ-follower, I follow the One who was both God and human, who challenged and offered healing to both individuals and systems, who overcame death by death, and who called His disciples to live radically different than those around them. Unfortunately, as we look at the history of the Church and throughout our world today, the body of Christ continues to miss the mark of these tensions and choose the easy way out of picking sides that don’t align with the narrow way.
In Joshua, the Commander of the Lord’s Army appears to Joshua and Joshua asks who side is he on. The Commander responds that He’s neither on Joshua’s side or Jericho’s, but that He has come as the Commander. Today, I wonder how we would respond to the Commander of the Lord’s Army and if we’d be okay with the tension that He’s not on either side, but His call is for the people of God to acknowledge the holiness of His Presence and root ourselves in the tension of obedience everyday.
In other words, Joshua and the people are confronted with the truth that God was calling them to another way of viewing the situation before them. And ultimately, this truth, this way of viewing things can set us all free. I wonder what our world would like look if we anchored ourselves in truth that kept us grounded in the midst of the polarizing headlines around us?
Maybe that’s all confusing, but I’m okay with the tension… Here are some practical points to consider for this final headline:
Am I used to tension or do I struggle with mystery? Why? How can I grow my muscle of tension?
Do I have a bias to view things through a certain side? Can I invite the Lord to show me His perspective about sides?
What are truths that I can anchor myself in that will help me become more resilient in the midst of tension?
There are many headlines circulating right now. There are many voices vying for our attention. There are many assumptions trying to create biased ideas and more divided groups. Today, I wonder, are we human or are we headline? Are we able to rise above the headlines to see the humanity and worth of each person made in God’s image and worth the price of His Son? Are we capable of creating space for the Lord’s meal and invitation to unite us across dividing lines? Are we open to building our muscles of resilience and wonder to wait in the tension and respond as God calls?
In the end, the question is not whether we are human or headline, but rather how we will choose to respond to one another in this season. My hope is that one day we will be able to see beyond the headlines of this world to claim and act from the headlines of the Kingdom. It is in that hope and to that day that I pray and write. Amen.
