Everything is permissible
Egos like to create binaries.
Binaries make an attempt to simplify things. They help us make sense of our world, they help us feel safe and in control. They give us a sense that we understand what we are seeing and have things figured out.
Binaries are problematic.
Nothing is a simple as it seems. We love black and white but the world is full of grey. We aren’t in control and we don’t have it all figured out.
Good vs. Evil
Right vs. Wrong
Do we even know the difference? Are we sure?
Pro life vs. pro choice.
Death is bound up in life.
A person is born , life springs forth and that person lives a life full of horrible pain, suffering and torment. A hell on earth.
Life is bound up in death.
A woman ends a pregnancy and grieves. But, in this act she has unknowingly prevented the life of someone who would have grown up to endure great suffering or to inflict great suffering. She has prevented a hell on earth.
Decades ago, in my fundamentalist days, I used to say I was pro-life which meant I was against capital punishment, war and abortion.
But now I realize I'm also pro-death which means that many, many times there are worse things, more evil things than death.
If a person’s life here on earth is hell, I'm against that hell. Whatever it means to bring heaven to even one person, for even a moment, I'm for that.
For me there are no easy binaries. That's why we must exist in a place of grace rather than law.
Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.
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