Note: within about 30 minutes of when I originally posted this article this morning, the US Supreme Court announced its rulings to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act and to refuse to hear the Proposition 8 case from California.

Sometime today the US Supreme Court is expected to rule on a pair of cases related to same-sex marriage. I have already stated my opinion on the matter in a previous blog post, but that’s not what I want to write about today.

Today, I want us to remember that, whichever direction the court goes, many people—including dear friends—are going to disagree. We have a choice. We can either allow further polarization, or we can strive for grace and understanding.

As we anticipate the Supreme Court’s rulings, let us all—regardless of our personal beliefs—remember to respond graciously and humbly. However it goes, one person’s reason for joy is going to be another’s reason for pain.

You may not agree with the “other side’s” opinion, but please do not dehumanize them. Their feelings may not be the same as yours, but that does not make them less legitimate.

It will be natural for those with whom the court agrees to want to gloat, and for those with whom the court disagrees to become angry. It’s not the emotions themselves we need to guard against, but how we react to them and what we do with them.

So please, rather than seeing this as an opportunity to divide our nation further over perceptions of who’s “right” and who’s “wrong,” may today be a day when reconciliation begins. May we see our brothers and sisters—whether conservative or liberal, religious or secular, straight or gay—as exactly that: brothers and sisters.

Let us not heap pain upon pain. Let us show mercy and grace, and let us move forward from whatever this day brings with a renewed commitment to seek what’s best for one another, even if we disagree.

Peace and love,

Joe

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