By Skye Chaapel
Mark 12:29-31 (NIV) “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
As a Christian community, I feel we need to ask ourselves this: are we following Christ’s example? Are we loving our neighbors to the best of our capabilities, as asked of us by Christ? If you ask people within the Houghton community, I’m sure they’d say yes. However, while there are some of us who are loving our neighbors, there are others who are not. They could be saying yes out of the want to look good for themselves or others, denial, or ignorance. These are questions that I have been truly struggling with for a while.
What if we asked the question: “Do you feel loved on campus?” What would you expect the answer to be? One would hope that the answer is a resounding yes, as we are all Christians, called to love. Unfortunately, I know far too many students who do not feel loved by the Houghton community, myself included. Those of us who differ from the Wesleyan traditions’ expectations are generally treated as outcasts on campus. This includes people of a different ethnicity and race, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, and people of different religious backgrounds.
For me, one of the major drawing points to Houghton four years ago was the close-knit community that existed on campus; it was something you could feel, and it almost felt tangible. After some of the recent events though, I feel like I no longer belong here. I know students who have received death threats, unwelcome comments, or racial slurs depending on their identity or race. Houghton University’s President also received unacceptable slurs on his birthday card last year. As a community, we should be appalled that this is happening and that we have allowed it to continue. What happened to loving our neighbors? There is no love that comes from those actions. The Houghton community is striving to be an ideal Christian community, but many do not feel welcome here. We can not have a Christian community that is founded on Jesus if there are members of it who are suffering from our actions.
We need to learn to love each other. We do not always need to agree on things, but that should not stop us from extending God’s grace and love to each other. Jesus taught us to love and not to judge others. You do not know what someone else could be struggling with at any moment. Be kind and be willing to keep an open mind when interacting with others. As the followers of Christ, we are called to meet people where they are, be with them, and walk with them in their journey. ★
If you or someone you know is the target of hateful behaviors, we encourage you to reach out to the Office of Student Life.