On the Prefix Anti-

"I actually like this ad," my husband said. "You know why?"

Flipping through my mental rolodex, I could only think of one reason, "She says what she's for?"

"Yes. I don't know anything else about her, but I'd actually vote for her." He said.

Picking up the political leaflet and reading through it, I had to agree. Finally! A campaigner who spent time on what mattered instead of mudslinging. It felt like a breath of fresh air.

--

I see a lot these days encouraging me to be anti: anti-abortion, anti-diet, anti-guns, anti-racist, etc. The very prefix "anti" sets me on edge. It brings up my protective parts. It makes me feel like people are my enemies. I don't think that's what it's supposed to do.

The band Casting Crowns has lines in their song, "Jesus, Friend of Sinners," that go:

"Nobody knows what we're for, only what we're against when we judge the wounded

What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines and love like You did?"

This goes through my mind every time I see another "anti-rhetoric." What if I stopped trying to be "anti" things and instead thought about the actual people and was for them? What if I was for people regardless of their stance on abortion, dieting, guns, homosexuality, race, or whatever the latest thing is? What if I loved people like Jesus instead of trying to shore up my personal stance? I can be as bad as anybody about getting stuck in my own rhetoric.

There is truth, and truth that sets men free (John 8:32). I know it. I believe it. I hope I share it. I don't think I have to be anti- anything or anyone to do so, though.

--

"I actually like her. We don't agree, but I like her."

That's what I'd like people to say about me. I like people to see that I care, even if my stance isn't the same as theirs. Jesus called people up. He called people out. He wasn't against them, though. He was for them, so much that he gave the greatest gift of all, His life, for them. I'm choosing to be for him over being anti- anything else.