2023-04-26 A Meditation on Deescalation

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Php 2:5–11 ESV)

Built into any deescalation, or talking down a situation, is a genuineness of our own gift and servanthood. We are not eager to have discord, to prove ourselves right, to go after contentious language or abrasive posturing. More than that, we bring to the courtroom all suspicions about our own motives: this one, as a belligerent, has only ever known abuse and limiting treatment. They suspect us of the same. Yet in Christ today we are certain of the good word that the Christian brings to the game.

The Christian is genuine regarding a heart not fraught with an ill variety of gamesmanship. The Christian does not have a dog in the fight, other than that dog of seeing their tentative, pensive, on-the-brink peer weaned. To see them quieted. To see them forgiven and blessed into the fellowship, even as in secret we too have our peculiarities and our selfish encampment. We encamp and refuse to give up our seat. We encamp and refuse to make special the introduction of a newcomer. We encamp and think all life should be fair, any wrongs recompensed, any slights legally paid back. For heaven forbid we should be put out by someone else. Heaven forbid we should be asked to supply a want that never was our own debt, but rather is the debt of someone else.