We made our annual one-day visit to the Iowa State Fair last month and there are some things that will never change. I will always eat approximately 20,000 calories. I will always be in awe of the Super Bull, which weighed in at 2,710 pounds this year. And no matter how long I live in Chicago, the fair will remind me that I will always consider myself an Iowan.
Despite those unchanging traditions, though, there is usually something new to notice. This year, not surprisingly, the fair was more political since next January will be the Iowa Caucuses. I was disappointed there weren’t more politicians at the fair the day I was there, but there was the opportunity to vote (via corn kernel) for one’s favorite presidential candidate. Granted, this may be the most unscientific poll around (it’s perfectly fine to vote more than once), but the results showed that Iowa will be a dead heat in November 2020. In addition, I also saw more than few people at the fair wearing “Socialism Sucks” buttons. All of this made me realize something: I really live in a bubble.
How so? I live in Chicago, which is a pretty progressive city. It just elected Lori Lightfoot as its mayor and she’s the city’s first openly gay mayor, its second woman mayor and its second black mayor. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination for president will win Chicago (and probably Illinois) handily. In addition, most of the people I follow on Twitter share my beliefs and Facebook’s algorithm seems to be set up so that I usually only read posts that cement by beliefs, rather than challenge them.
The fair burst my bubble, which is a good thing. Right after Jesus tells us to love our enemies in Matthew 5, he asks, “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?” If I only spend my time (in person or online) who think like me, I sell my faith short.
It’s not easy, of course, to be in relationship with our “enemies,” those with whom we are in conflict. It takes a strong dependence on God. And that may be what Jesus wanted in the first place. What bubble needs to be burst in your own life?
Above photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash