As we gathered with family and friends for Thanksgiving last week, the prevailing advice was the age-old warning: "Stay away from politics and religion."
When you walk in and see that relative you haven’t seen in a year… you know, the one with the crazy political rants on Facebook, nobody suggests your best opening is, “So, how about that presidential election?”
We should stay away from politics and religion, after all, shouldn’t we?
I believe the opposite is true.
Hear me out – I’m not saying we should confront people or turn group gatherings into heated debates. I’m not encouraging you to be adversarial at all.
But when we lose the ability to talk about things that truly matter, we dramatically limit our capacity for deeper, more meaningful relationships.
This is true with our family.
This is true with our friends.
In fact, it’s even true with our colleagues.
The digital age has created an unprecedented paradox. We’re more connected than ever, yet more divided than ever. The internet and social media have pushed us into echo chambers – political and philosophical bubbles where we are inundated with information that reinforces everything we already believe. We see other people who think exactly like we think and believe exactly what we believe.
I have friends on both sides of the political aisle who cannot – and I mean literally cannot – fathom how someone could have voted differently than they did. Even if you believe the other side is terribly wrong, it’s dangerous when you lose the ability to see how someone could have a different perspective.
How about your faith? If you believe something that has the potential to radically transform someone’s life, shouldn’t you want to interact with people who need to hear that message?
Instead, we spend most of our time in our own bubble and we don’t dare bring up something where someone might have a different point of view.
My bold claim:
We shouldn’t spend our lives only talking about surface-level nonsense when there’s an incredible opportunity to have meaningful conversations about things that matter. And, when we do, we take a step to building deep, rich relationships.
Take the first step.
Lean in.
Have the conversation.
Ask curious questions.
Listen more than you speak.
I am not encouraging you to compromise your convictions or water down your beliefs. Instead, I’m encouraging you to engage in conversations that matter. And sometimes, that means discussing politics and religion.
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