February 5, 2024

Hello friends,

Why assume malice when you can assume incompetence, or even better, extend empathy towards someone who is just having an off day?

Our basic assumptions about how reality works shape how we experience our life. Often, these assumptions are so fundamental that we don’t even register them, like the assumption that gravity will continue to work and the sun will rise again tomorrow.

I believe that the community and rituals surrounding different faith practices are really valuable, however, I think that Christianity’s fundamental assumption that people are sinful and therefore bad has done a lot of harm to a lot of people. That is obvious on a global and historical scale, but here I’m talking about what it means to be raised in a culture where that is the fundamental belief about people. What does it do to you to be told that you are loved despite, not loved because, or simply loved?

I’m pretty committed to the idea that no one is unredeemable. That does not mean that I have to welcome or even be kind to people who have actively harmed me. As my friend Gabby says, “I want everyone to eat, just not necessarily at my table.” I don’t have to extend forgiveness to someone to still believe that they are worthy of love and worthy of community. I believe in redemption, because ultimately I believe that people want to live in community. We are social creatures and that desire to me means that most people at their core desire to be “good,” whatever that means.

Take 5-15 minutes and write about

Do you believe people are fundamentally good or bad? Why?

To me, beyond whether my belief that people are fundamentally good is actually true or not, believing that people are generally good shapes how I experience every interaction, helps me be patient, and lets me not read careless actions as personal slights. My life is better because of this belief. I personally would rather be wrong and happier than right and miserable, at least in this case.

Your friend,
Laura