The apostle James, Jesus’ brother, found a painful irony in one way people speak. “With [our tongue] we both bless the Lord and Father and curse human beings made in God’s likeness. Blessing and cursing come from the same mouth,” he wrote. Reflecting on this passage in his book Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, Pastor Hamilton asked, “Does the Lord give us an exemption from practicing the Scriptures when it comes to our political leaders?”

• Sociologists note that in war, soldiers start using dehumanizing nicknames for people on the other side. It seems to become easier to kill other people if we stop thinking of them as people, as human. In what ways have you seen similar patterns in political “combat,” when the “bullets” are words? Have you ever become friends with a person, later found that you hold different political opinions, and realized that the degrading labels you’ve used for “those people” may not be true?
• In Seeing Gray, Pastor Adam Hamilton wrote, “Part of the polarization… in our country today is a result of pastors and church leaders who have abandoned the teachings of Jesus and the apostles regarding the way we speak of those with whom we disagree. Part of the healing of our nation must come from the church modeling for our society how we are to love those with whom we disagree.” Do you, like James, find it sad to bless God and then curse people God loves and for whom Jesus died? What can you change in your own speech to contribute to “the healing of our nation”?