119: How To Be A Voice Of Peace In A Culture Of Polarization with Sharon A. Hersh

October 26, 2020

A recent survey shows that eight out of ten people feel we are completely, hopelessly divided from one another. Do you feel the same way? We have come to the point where we are valuing being right over valuing those around us. In a culture of polarization, do we have to join in? Or is there another way? In Episode 119, Daniel and Christina interview author and counselor Sharon Hersh about how peace and common grace can be the transformation that we all desperately need.

In This Episode, You Will Hear About:

How to be a voice of peace in a culture of polarization both on social media and in-person
What relational violence is and what to do when you’ve been the receiver or giver of this violence
Why we all need common grace and how it can transform our relationships
What we are trading in for always trying to prove we are right

Resources Mentioned During the Episode:

Pick up a copy of Sharon’s book, Belonging: Finding the Way Back to One Another
To find out more about Sharon, check out her website
How To Raise Kids That Change The World
5 Practical Ways To Show Grace To Your Family Even When They Are Driving You Crazy
When You Can’t Sleep, Try This

Quotes and Tweets:

We don’t believe the plot is good when our stories are only about us. We can’t see God’s image in us when our stories are only about us. @sharonhersh
The pain of relationships and the futility of trying to make life work is God’s grace of letting us know that things are not how they’re supposed to be. There’s a deeper problem in need of a deeper story. God does not allow us to be comfortable in our alienation from him and one another. @sharonhersh
Over 75 percent of social media interaction is generated by well-meaning people who take their passionate opinions into relationally violent conversations. @sharonhersh
Relational violence is when you take your opinion and it becomes more important than the person you are talking to; you speak before listening. @sharonhersh
God created us to be in a relationship that is face to face, eye to eye, and soul to soul. @sharonhersh
Whenever we feel out of control, we are apt to raise our fists to the sky and say, “How dare you?” We end up moving from our whole brain to our left brain that analyzes, criticizes, and corrects. When we are in our left brain, we cannot be fully present. We are not there with our whole hearts. @sharonhersh
If we were fully present, we might be curious instead of judgemental, we might be compassionate instead of critical. We might think of our own flaws instead of pointing them out in others. We might feel more of a sense of belonging. @sharonhersh
The question that I ask myself whenever I post on social media is “Will this add value?” @sharonhersh
Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord. Psalm 146 @sharonhersh
Common grace is a desire on God’s part to give out good gifts of wisdom, talent, beauty, and skill ‘graciously’–that is, in a completely unmerited way. He casts them across all humanity, regardless of religious conviction, race, gender, or any other attribute to enrich, brighten, and preserve the world. @timkeller
If we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. – Mother Teresa

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Meet Sharon A. Hersh :

Sharon Hersh is a licensed professional counselor, an adjunct professor in graduate counseling programs, a sought-after speaker, and the author of several books, including the acclaimed The Last Addiction: Why Self Help Is Not Enough, the popular Bravehearts: Unlocking the Courage to Love With Abandon, and the award-winning Mothering Without Guilt. Her latest book, Belonging: Finding the Way Back to One Another, was released from NavPress in August 2020.