Things I do not care about

Arguments about Artificial Intelligence - No, I will not pick a side. Yes, I would be fine if it disappeared. Yes, I also still use it..I also use cellphones and I wish those would disappear. This is the world we live in. We're all doing our best to cope.

Literal, Figurative, or Inspired scripture arguments. Don't care.

I do not care what school your kids go to. 

I do not care if you are Team public, home school, or private school. I make my own choices based on what is right for me and my family and I support you as you do the same.

I do not care whether or not you medicate your ADHD or your children's ADHD.

I DO care that you take responsibility for yourself and teach your children to do the same.

I do not care what books your children read or do not read. I'm interested, but I'm not judging.

I do not care if you say The Pledge of Allegiance or have the 10 Commandments in your room. I have my own feelings about both, but you do you.

I DO care about the way you speak about teachers, regardless of where they teach.

I do not care what curriculum you use. I care what curriculum I use, but again: you do you.

I do not care if you vaccinate your children. I DO care what you tell other people about vaccinations if you can't back it up with a medical study.

I do not care if you breastfed or used formula, had a medicated or unmedicated birth, are Team hospital, home birth, or birthing center. I DO care that you respect other people's choices and recognize that they have nothing to do with yours.

I do not care if you believe in 7 day literal Creation or the idea that Genesis was written by an ancient biblical author using his own understanding of the world to write about the God he knew.

I do not care if you are "Old Earth" or "New Earth". I have questions if you are "Flat Earth", but mostly I'm just curious about that one...

I do not care about the inconsistencies in the Bible. I DO care that we acknowledge their existence and leave room for interpretation. The Bible was written by people with a limited understanding of the world, just like our knowledge of the world is limited. It doesn't mean it wasn't inspired, it doesn't mean it wasn't "God-breathed", it doesn't mean what they wrote wasn't "true". It just means I may have to adjust my understanding of its intended purpose.

I do not care if you say "Word of God" when referring to scripture, or what translation you use.

I do not care if you used TEFA.

I do not care if you did not use TEFA.

I DO have feelings and opinions about the existence of TEFA, but that's another story that I am willing to share if you approach with curiosity and respect, knowing I am not judging you for your choices, and with the expectation that you will not judge me for mine.

I do not care whether you consider yourself "pro life" or "pro choice". I DO care about how you live that out.

I do not care what you think about gender roles, gender identity, LGBTQ+, pronouns, woke/not-woke, whatever. I DO care how you treat people who are different than you and whether you are speaking and acting towards them in the same way you would want them to speak and act towards you.

I do not care if you are for or against immigration, whether you think we should have closed or open borders. The arguments for and against both are so far above my education and pay grade that I'm not going to argue one way or the other.

I DO care about how the people who are already here are treated regardless of their legal status.

I am not interested in culture wars. I refuse to draw a line between "us" and "them", "the church" and "the world", "liberals" and "conservatives" or whatever categories you want to use. We all have something to learn from each other.

It doesn't mean I don't have beliefs and convictions.

It doesn't mean I don't believe in right and wrong.

It doesn't mean I think we should accept every viewpoint.

It doesn't mean I don't have boundaries for myself and my family.

It means I understand we're all doing the best we have with the knowledge, information, circumstances, and resources that we have available to us. I have a responsibility to use what I am given responsibly, and that includes using my listening ears when other people with different life experiences are talking.  Do I live this out perfectly? No. Do I have biases? Definitely!

But I am so tired of the landmines around absolutely everything, from groceries to politics. Nothing is safe anymore, and I'm tired of it.

So come to me however you are. I promise to listen to your convictions and do my best to respect them and learn from them. I promise to give you the Most Generous Interpretation. If you are interested in truly understanding my opposite perspective I am happy to share where I am coming from. I do not expect us to agree on everything, but hopefully we can learn to appreciate each other.

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Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.