A pretty universal statement here but, I think it's true: almost everyone has a tendency to view issues from their own very limited perspective. That perspective is formed by our individual background, conditioning, environment, experiences, etc. It is that with which we are most familiar and it is where we go when dealing with unknowns. These can be morphed into "belief systems" which still have a tendency to be weighted toward our own individual experience. We gravitate to these places because that is where we are most secure and confident. To venture outside of this space can be rather scary and this fear leads to a reluctance to seriously consider another position on a topic - or another person's point of view. All of this is especially true when that point of view, with all of its background, conditioning, and environment, is vastly different than our own.
In the Gospel of Mark, after feeding the five thousand (also known as the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish), Jesus sent his disciples onto a boat while he went up the mountain to pray. As the disciples were in the middle of the lake, they struggled with the wind that had subsequently picked-up speed. Jesus saw the disciples and walked onto the water toward them. When he came to them, the disciples were afraid thinking he was a ghost. After he told them who he was in order to settle their fears, he climbed into the boat, and the winds subsided. Then a sentence that I've never really noticed in the Bible stated that the disciples were “very amazed because they didn't understand what had happened with the loaves; their hearts had hardened”. Their hearts had hardened, causing them to be amazed at what had just happened, because they didn't understand what happened with the loaves? That's extremely interesting to me and I've reflected on that a lot. I've reflected on how this might apply to our own tendency to lock-in on an assessment, based on our limited understanding, or opinion when dealing with complex situations.
The disciples were amazed when the Jesus walked on water and the wind subsided because they didn't understand what happened with the loaves earlier that day. It was too big to comprehend who Jesus was and the miracles he had just performed. Jesus continued to challenge his disciples to think outside of the box of their past experiences and to consider a new way of thinking. We do the same thing as the disciples in dealing with even much smaller unknowns, by trying to eliminate them. We try to eliminate them by building our knowledge base around our "definitives". And, if we don't know all the facts (which we almost never do), we build false definitives to fill in the blanks. Then we harden our hearts there and stop seeking a better understanding. This tendency becomes even worse when the false definitive morphs into fear.
In considering an example, I think of topics such as border security where it seems we've lost our ability to wonder and sense of imagination. We have lost a curiosity about the truth that might cause us to seek the perspective of others. Many Christians now talk about protection and security (which, again, is mostly about us) without adjoining that conversation with an overwhelming curiosity for the perspective of others - particularly those who are hurting just outside our borders. The cries of those who are seeking refuge here are becoming inaudible to many Christians as is evidenced by the political discourse. This is a natural fear-based tendency when we don't understand the world around us. We sort of turn-off our imagination and begin forming our boundary of beliefs based upon a very limited perspective. We form our opinions and boundaries around what we think is reasonable and, in a sense, our hearts harden there. We surround ourselves with those who reinforce our point of view. At that point, we stop seeking the truth; we seek a reverberation of ourselves from others. Our imagination sort of dries up because we're not comfortable with the uncertainty of things. We cease exploring different perspectives and our hearts harden to our detriment and, worse yet, to the detriment of others. It seems that we should be, at a minimum, deeply concerned about those who are suffering and seeking asylum. At our best, we would be actively trying to help them.
"Many Christians now talk about protection and security (which, again, is mostly about us) without adjoining that conversation with an overwhelming curiosity for the perspective of others - particularly those who are hurting just outside our borders."
I don't pretend to know the answers to the current dilemma. We have a right to (and responsibility for) some level of protection / security. I help provide these for my family through many different measures - likewise, we need to provide similar protections to our citizens from any criminal element. But, we should never grow so consumed with those measures that we stop being concerned with the well-being of those who are hurting nor should we retreat into paralyzing fear. If we're not adjoining the conversation of security with the idea of helping those who are in pain and mourning, we not only lack understanding of what happened with the loaves, we've have hardened our hearts and have stopped seeking the truth. Then, we risk not understanding the Good News that Jesus came to preach to all who are poor. After the storm, the disciples didn't stop seeking a better understanding to broaden their perspectives. They continued seeking because Jesus challenged them to do so. Today's Christian has the same challenge and responsibility as those early believers: to grow in spirit and understanding followed by the act of providing a beacon of hope for those who need it. Yes, it is a much scarier trip than staying in our comfort place but, that's why we are called to have faith and to trust not in our own inclinations.
