By LINDA SMITH
Powerhouse Christian Center

In the Disney movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” a rather disturbing talking mirror responds to Snow White when she inquires, “Who’s the fairest of them all?” The mirror at first, of course, tells Snow White what she wants to hear.

What the mirror should have said, if answering wholly and truthfully, was, “Snow White, you’re a really nice looking young lady, but you are either insecure or vain. Which is it?”

We could all use a mirror that tells us the whole truth. Instead, we count on the opinion of others, which is usually equally misleading. The only valuable self-evaluation is one based on a consistent, reliable standard. For me and for many others, that standard is God’s word.

Which brings me to an observation. With our great freedom of speech, blogging, texting, media commentary, etc., we are inundated with opinions about everything every day. And the volume along with the viciousness is ramping up at an alarming rate. Whether it’s an article for this publication, a comment made by a legislator or an editorial, we feel not only free to comment, but we feel equally free to insult the writer/speaker. Truth is, we all have issues, skeletons in our closet, personal failings, so why can’t we just comment on our differences without attacking on another.

I particularly see this between Christians and atheists or agnostics. This is not a new battle.  Jesus faced this challenge. When verbally challenging him, his ancestry was often attacked, suggesting he was illegitimate. The synagogue leaders called him a heretic. For a very long time, believers and unbelievers have had to live on the same planet. For a very long time (thinking of the Irish wars) Catholics and Protestants have had to live on the same planet. For a very long time Muslims, Jews, Christians and atheists have had to live on the same planet.

None of us are going away while the earth remains.  We can’t blow each other out of existence. We can’t legislate each other out of existence. We can’t annihilate each other out of existence. Courtrooms aren’t going to stop Christians from telling about Jesus and they are also not going to stop atheists from letting Christians know how upset they are.

So here’s a thought. We all believe we’re right.  We’ll all find out eventually who really is right. It won’t be because we say to the mirror, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the most correct one of all?” If you believe in God, you know that God will eventually reveal the truth. If you don’t … then, well … you don’t and it all really doesn’t matter, does it?  For the time being, the religious folks have to listen to those who just hate all things religious and atheists will be living in the same neighborhoods as religious folks and, undoubtedly will occasionally hear them testify of their faith.

I am not threatened or affected by unbelief in my God. I can take it if you rail against me. But is it really necessary for us to be mean? Is it really necessary for us to name-call? Aren’t we intelligent enough to state our case, our opinion without resorting to insults, innuendos and hate-mongering? Yes we are.  And … let’s all take a good long look in the mirror.