Professor Matthew Schmidt comments on American politics: “We have been living for some time, at least a couple of decades now, in a political environment where both sides are declaring the other side as out of bounds, as being beyond compromising with, beyond working with.” While UK and US politics differ in some respects, the polarisation of beliefs is a common thread. People on the left often can’t understand the perspective of those on the right, and vice versa. This has been a significant factor in the era of Corbyn, the rise of Reform, and the disbelief that the Conservatives can stay in power despite their policies. I even know people who avoid others because of minor differences in opinion. Sound familiar?

The church, too, stands divided into tribes, each declaring their own as the right one. Denominational discourse is high, and inter-denominational unity is fracturing because we can’t understand why one tribe believes one thing and another tribe believes something else. I’m so tired of us calling ourselves countercultural while mimicking the polarising trends of society. We’ve been caught hook, line, and sinker by the zeitgeist of our time: polarisation and pride.

The Spirit of Jesus is very different. He calls us to bear with one another, to love each other, and to live in God’s reconciling nature. Our God became like us, went to the cross for us, and rose again to reconcile us to Himself. His death was for our reconciliation. We have a reconciling God, and we have an opportunity to model a different way - one of reconciliation and humility. As Christian leaders, we can make a difference in our political life together in the public common space. The beginning of my political theology course was all about listening because our lack of listening is a root cause of our problems. Good politics, whether local, national, about the state, or the church, starts with genuinely listening to each other.

Following this week’s news, I spoke with a schoolteacher, and we were both close to tears when we realized that, in our positions, we have the opportunity to create spaces where children and adults can discuss important issues, learn to listen, and hold the tension between differing beliefs. Can we create spaces where we listen to each other?

But what about the truth of Jesus? Shouldn’t we be standing up for that? Yes, we should - I’m not suggesting that we suddenly agree with someone else’s differing opinion and stop believing what we believe. Listening does not mean agreeing with each other’s opinions or disregarding what we hold to be true. Ironically, we are very good at declaring our truth in this society. The problem is not truth itself, but how we wield it. Listening helps us walk in each other’s shoes and helps us remove the speck from our own eye so we can learn to love and care for each other even when our opinions differ.

I encourage us to ask ourselves: How are we engaging with differences? Where are we genuinely listening to someone with an opposing opinion? How do we speak of our brothers and sisters, and how do we act when our opinions or lifestyles differ? Are we checking our own hearts, bringing our pain and anger to Jesus, and allowing God to shape us towards love? Can we create spaces where differences are not only held but welcomed?

Director: South West