Reader’s Forum: Loving Means Listening
I don’t want to think about politics when I’m at church — or on a date, hanging out with friends, or visiting family.
I don’t want my conversations to dissolve under tangible tension weighing them down. It’s hard to love someone when you hate their opinion.
But maybe that’s the problem — we’re hating other opinions. I’ve seen it in our community at BYU.
Side-long looks when someone makes a comment and awkward silence with our inability to talk to someone on the opposite end of the spectrum. I’m guilty of it.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we’re taught to love everyone and treat them kindly, too.
Isn’t listening a part of love? Even when we disagree, even when it feels like we could never see eye to eye?
Our country is politically divided right now, but as a church, as a BYU community, we don’t have to be.
Open discussion of all topics should be welcome and allowed; it should be okay to talk about politics, as long as we’re open and humble about our opinions and receptive and respectful of others.
If we all do this individually, like the song says, “When your heart is filled with love, others will love you.”
Ashley Wilson
Spanish Fork, Utah