It's Not What You Think

 It's not what you think that is the problem. It's how you think that is. How you think governs what you think. 

The storming of the Capitol building on January 6 was fueled by the belief in widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, resulting in the election being stolen from Donald Trump and unlawfully given to Joe Biden. Although state officials - many of them elected Republicans - verified the election as the most transparent and secure election in recent history, those who stormed the Capitol dismissed their claims as lies. Multiple lawsuits claiming fraudulent voting were repeatedly dismissed by the courts - including the Supreme Court - for a lack of evidence. Nonetheless, those who assaulted the Capitol acted on their unswerving belief in election fraud and a stolen election.  

That is what they thought.  

Let me be clear: what they thought was a problem! What they thought led them to plan and execute a violent attempt to prevent the congressional certification of the election results, thereby stopping the steal and preserving the presidency of Donald Trump. What they thought led to an armed insurrection against our constitutionally designed democratic process in order to - in their minds - protect our democratic way of life. What they thought resulted in an assault on and attempted take over of our Capitol building, the center of and symbol of our democratic way of life. What they thought led them to plan to arrest and execute duly elected officials - including the Vice-president of the United States - as traitors to their country. Ironically, what they did threatened to destroy the very thing they proclaimed they were protecting: our nation. But they did not see it - could not see it - that way. In their minds, they were patriots defending their nation. 

Certainly, what they thought was a problem. But what they thought was simply the natural result of how they thought. How they thought was the deeper issue. How they thought was the underlying problem.

I describe their thinking as rigid thinking. Rigid thinking is grounded in the belief that I know the truth - truth that others do not or can not or will not see. It is the belief that I am right and others are wrong. Those who stormed the Capitol believed they were right and in the right in spite of what elected officials and the courts said. 

Rigid thinking is closed-minded thinking. It is not open to any position that challenges what it believes to be true. It is not teachable. It is unable to learn. It is unwilling to grow or change. Rigid thinking reinforces itself with echo chambers that repeat and reinforce what I already think. We see this reality in how those who stormed the Capitol rejected what they called "fake news" and clung to conspiracy theories that reinforce their beliefs. 

Rigid thinking operates out of us-them thinking. It divides the world into those who think the way I think and those who don't. It is an underlying factor in any polarization - including the polarization in our nation and The UMC. Those who stormed the Capitol viewed those who accepted the validity of the election as traitors and enemies. 

Rigid thinking produces critical, judgmental, condescending attitudes toward those who don't think the way I think. It leads us to demonize and dehumanize those who are different, blinding us to who they are as a person or even as a human being. It allows us to place all blame on the other for the problems we see. Those who stormed the Capitol thought they were saving our nation from the hand of traitors and enemies. Rigid thinking is accompanied by a not-so-subtle arrogance. This arrogance allows us to discount and dismiss what the other thinks.

Rigid thinking is emotionally-driven, anxiety-based thinking. It reflects deep-seated fear. It is not really thinking. Thinking implies the use of the intellect, logic, and reason. Thinking implies dealing with observable, verifiable reality. Rigid thinking is rooted in emotional reactivity. Slogans and sound bites (e.g., Blue Lives Matter, Back the Blue, Defund the Police) are designed to stir this emotional reactivity and block clear thinking. Those who stormed the Capitol were acting out of fear - fear that they were losing their nation and their way of life. Because it is emotionally driven, rigid thinking cannot be changed by reason or facts. Confrontation only reinforces the rigidity of thought.

At its core, rigid thinking is about identity. We tie our sense of identity to what we think is true. We look for narratives that validate what we think and, thereby, our sense of who we are. Our sense of identity gives us our sense of value and standing, our sense of place and security. Any challenge to what I think is a challenge to my identity - my sense of who I am, my sense of value and standing, my sense of place and security. Those who stormed the Capitol viewed themselves as victims who had been wronged. They were defending who they understood we as a nation are because their sense of identity was wrapped up in that understanding. (In my opinion, their understanding can be described as Christian nationalism that protects the privileges of white supremacy - their understanding of who we are as a nation, their identity in that nation.)   

And, on top of all of that I have identified about it, rigid thinking blinds us to ourselves. It blocks self-awareness. Without self-awareness, we never really think. We just react emotionally. 

Now here's the thing about all that I have described: how those who stormed the Capitol think is how we all naturally think. Rigid thinking is not limited to those who stormed the Capitol. We all do it - those on the right, those on the left. We all like to believe we are intelligent, rational, and logical. The reality is our thinking is innately emotionally-driven thinking. It is driven by deep-seated anxiety about who we are. We live with deep-seated anxiety about our value and standing, about our place and security in the world. And that anxiety colors our thinking. Rigid thinking is an inherent part of our human condition. 

And that's where being a follower of Jesus comes into play. At the heart of being a follower of Jesus is the willingness to learn. Being a follower of Jesus moves us beyond this inherent, emotionally-driven way of thinking and reacting. 

The gospel of Matthew records the invitation Jesus extends to each of us: "Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 NRSV). 

 Being a follower of Jesus is about learning. Using the image of a yoke, Jesus invites us: "Learn from me." A yoke is about learning. In Jesus's day, a young ox would be trained by yoking it with an older one. The young ox would learn by sharing the yoke with an experienced, trained ox. It would learn from the other. Jesus drew on that image to invite us to learn from him. 

Learning from Jesus is discovering Truth with a capital T. It is learning God's Truth. It is learning Truth that grows out of and aligns with God's character. This Truth is untainted by fear. Learning this Truth is a never-ending process. There is always more to God and to God's Truth than I know. In addition, learning the Truth Jesus taught about God leads us to live the ways of God in our own lives. 

Learning requires humility. Humility is the opposite of the arrogant nature of rigid thinking and its "I know the truth" mentality. Humility is being teachable. It is the willingness to learn. It is being open to new understanding, to greater understanding. It is being willing to see things from a different perspective. 

A teachable spirit - being willing to learn - opens us to growth. It allows us to move beyond where we are to something more, to something greater. It allows us to change. It leads us into maturity. Rigid thinking keeps us stuck emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. 

Jesus's invitation to learn from him included a promise that was repeated two different times: "I will give you rest; you will find rest for your souls." Learning from Jesus leads to rest. Rest is the opposite of our anxiety-driven thinking and living. It is freedom from fear and the fear-based striving that marks our lives. We experience rest as we learn to think differently. In learning to think from the perspective of God and the character of God and the ways of God, we gain a new identity. We learn to see ourselves through the eyes of God rather than through the lens of fear. We learn to live as a beloved child of God, called to be a follower of Jesus, gifted and empowered by the Spirit. We discover our value and standing, our place and security in being God's partners, doing God's work in the world. When we live out of this God-shaped identity, others are no longer a threat to us. We are able to see others through the eyes of God, too. 

Many of those who stormed the Capitol believed they were doing God's will. They asked God's blessing on what they did and God's protection as they did it. They prayed for God to defeat their enemies and give them success. But, sadly, neither what they thought nor how they thought reflected the teachings of Jesus. As a result, what they did was at odds with what Jesus taught. 

When we learn from Jesus, what we think changes. Even more, when we learn from Jesus, how we think changes. When what we think and how we think changes, we change. 

 (Question for another time: do we use our churches as echo chambers designed to reinforce what we already think, reassuring us that we are right, and making us comfortable OR as places of learning that lead us to grow and change?)