Removing our Filters

There's been a lot of social unrest in the past few weeks... years... centuries... since the start of time.

Currently our world is watching as another minority group fight for equality. This seems cyclical. When this dies down, another group will rise because they will find their voice and stand up for their rights.

From the beginning of time good people have fought for justice, to take back this great power for themselves or for those they see as oppressed. These strong and passionate people not only talked about the injustice but changed the future. Laws were created to protect children from abuse (1974/USA), to abolish the suffrage of women (1920/USA), to abolish slavery (1865/USA), to overturn the prohibition of interracial marriages (1967/USA),  to protect LGBT workers from being fired based on sexual orientation or gender identity (2020/USA), to allow children with developmental delays to attend school (1973/USA), and more. 

God's Holy Word tells us that the Israelites wanted a King because the judges that were over the people, were not doing what God required and were compromised and accepting bribes—perverting justice rather than upholding the righteousness of God. And eventually, a great number of those Kings became corrupt for the same reasons. A quest for power. Not much is different today. It may not be Kings but it's majority groups and people in power. Not ALL people... just some. Enough. 

The world constantly attacks, defends, loves, and hates, through filters.

We all have filters. We see the world the way we have experienced it. It seems that if things don't align with our filters, our minds make it wrong because like a computer, it doesn't know how to handle an unexpected action. Like computers, we see unexpected actions as errors. Something that isn't right, that has to be corrected... because our filters don't align with that action.

I'm a white Caucasian (almost) 40 year old mother of 2 bios, 1 bonus, and 1 foster children. I've been divorced. And remarried. I'm from a different country, but the same continent. I work full time. I am Christian. I'm middle class. I've never been hungry. I've never had the need to ask for government support. I have 1 sister. My parents are still alive. I have a parent who has survived cancer. I feel safe most of the time. I speak 2 languages. I work in a male dominated industry... I could go on and on. Those are MY filters. 

When I look at the world, I don't always understand the need for this fight or that fight because I've never been challenged by that cause. My internal computer has never faced any of those errors and so it doesn't process/think that they exist or that it needs to investigate it.

Do I understand each of the many filters that others experience? No. And I never will. And you won't understand mine.

So I'm trying my very best to be empathetic and listen and learn. I'm trying to remove my filters to better understand why people feel targeted and why they target others. I'm trying to remove my filters to better understand why those who feel offended by comments made by a few people generalize their response to a larger group. 

I'm trying to understand. I want to understand.

To help me understand, I need to safely say my words and not be attacked. I need you to provide me grace and hear my heart. I need for all of us to stay curious in a quest to love and honor each other.


In order for change to happen we need for filters to be lifted, for hearts to be open, for ears to hear, and to allow our God to lead us to freedom.