What happened last week in the committee room of the United States Senate was shameful. Millions of viewers watched and listened as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford accused Justice Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. President Trump’s nominee for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court followed with a resolute denial of every and all charges made against him.
You likely have an opinion of what you believe is the truth. I do too. Beyond our opinions, I find the whole drama disgusting.
None of us knows what happened to Ms. Ford. None of us knows what connection, if any, Justice Kavanaugh had with Ms. Ford when they were teenagers. What we do know is the treatment of both Ford and Kavanaugh is shameful.
When Ms. Ford contacted Senator Diane Feinstein, the California legislator sat on the information for months. Moving forward and best understood in hindsight, the concern was not for Ms. Ford’s wellbeing. The senator now possessed a silver bullet to use in her fight against the nomination. Ms. Ford was not a human being to be comforted and supported. Ms. Ford was a tool to be used – a tool few, if any, will care about in a few weeks’ time. She means nothing to them. She’s just a pawn. Using a person for political gain is disgusting.
There is no outcome satisfactory to the opposition party other than the destruction of the nominee. His ruin is their aim. By all accounts the mainstream media has contributed to the assault on Kavanaugh and his family. As for his wife, she should have known better. And their daughters? Well, they are young and privileged and will get over it. Besides, collateral damage cannot be avoided in battle, they say. Destroying a person’s life and those connected to him for political reasons is nauseating. More than that it is wicked.
It may seem like this is a political statement, but it is not. It is a pastoral one. My disgust goes beyond the ideas expressed, and I hope yours does too. I am most disturbed by how human beings treat each other. God created us in his image to enjoy with each other the intimacy experienced in the Trinity (John 17). Instead, we tear each other apart. As a race, we continue in the pattern established by Cain when he killed his brother Abel.
Christians, by our words or actions, we cannot and must not attack each other. We cannot and must not harm each other. We cannot and must not destroy each other. We cannot and must not because we – the whole human race – were created by God and created in his image. To attack each other or to destroy each other is to attack and attempt to destroy God.
In your home or life attacking the image of God in the people near you probably doesn’t look like a senate committee hearing. It might look like a slap delivered to a child in anger. It might sound like a stinging comment offered to a family member to assert superiority. It might be a lie told to gain the upper hand. It might be looks of contempt, expressions of hatred, or plans to get even. Attacking the image of God in the people near us can go way beyond these actions to serious abuse, harm, accusation, abandonment, and injury.
We are Christians. We embrace the truth that we bear the image of God. Let’s make sure we treat each other that way.
As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.