The Closing of the American Heart

The worst part of the present political discord in the United States is what it is doing to Americans’ hearts. There is no longer room in our hearts for others, whether those “others” are members of the opposing political party, persons of other races, other religions, or other sexual orientation. To modify the title of Allan Bloom’s bestseller (The Closing of the American Mind) slightly, this is the closing of the American heart. Doctor Seuss said of the Grinch:

Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.

It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right.

It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.

But I think that the most likely reason of all

May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

I do not rule out the head or shoe theories when it comes to what is happening to Americans, but it seems to me that our hearts are shrinking. To use a biblical metaphor, our hearts are becoming hardened. According to Christ this is a dangerous spiritual condition. Hardheartedness is more contagious than any coronavirus. No mask or vaccine can prevent it.

We contract it from our adversaries. (It is no coincidence that the word “contract” also means to shrink.) When we hear disinformation and propaganda, lies and hate, it conjures anger within us. Our hearts contract. We tend to meet anger with anger. This is the emotional equivalent of “an eye for an eye.” As Gandhi said, this only makes the whole world blind. Jesus called this reciprocity the spiritual equivalent of murder.

Christ’s assessment should give us pause to think about how serious our current situation is. Yet we usually don’t stop to think. We are too busy reacting. We are too busy fighting to notice what the fight is doing to us. The excuses we make for ourselves are the most dangerous aspect of the problem. We have shrouded the struggle in the clothing of self-righteousness and patriotism. We believe our own rhetoric.

What can we do about this spiritual plague that is sweeping through our land? The biblical book of Proverbs says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.”

This sounds to me like the spiritual practice of mindfulness! The root problem of today is mindlessness. We are not mindful of what we are feeling or thinking or saying. We are unaware of how we come across, how we are heard. Most of all, we are unaware of what the toxic political environment is doing to our hearts, how we are being changed inwardly. 

There is spiritual climate change happening in our country. There is wholesale devastation of our spiritual environment, and people are unaware of it. People are concerned about environmental pollution but not spiritual pollution. We are so intent on saving America that we may be losing our souls in the process. As Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

What good is a soulless America? Yet we are headed in that direction. The churches are not helping. Some churches are part of the problem rather than the solution. Some preachers are the worst offenders. Others are just watching it happen, conducting business as usual.  This will be the death of us as a nation, and it will be the death of American Christianity.

The fact that this spiritual hardening is happening at the same time as a precipitous decline in church attendance is not accidental. Many Christians believe that the decline in church attendance is the result of our society’s rejection of Christianity. We blame a godless and secular society for church decline. But the problem may be closer to home. We Christians might be the problem.

The churches may be contributing to the spiritual and moral decline. The abandonment of genuine spirituality by the churches may be causing people to abandon Christianity. When churches forsake God for politics, then people forsake the churches. When religion becomes toxic, then people look for healthier alternatives.

Whatever the cause of church decline, there is a serious spiritual problem in America today. I believe the solution begins with our hearts. We must become mindful of what is going on in our hearts. Notice what today’s poisonous polemics are doing to your soul. Being aware of the problem is half the battle.

When we are aware, then we can put a little space between others’ actions and our reactions, between others’ emotions and our emotions. Put a little space between your thoughts and your words. In that space between thoughts and words is peace. God dwells in this spacious peace. Abiding in this peace is true spirituality.

Jesus said, “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” What do your words and thoughts say about your heart?  Notice what is happening in your heart. Is it contracting or expanding? Are you opening to others or closing to them? Are you including others or excluding them, welcoming others or rejecting them? Protecting yourself or protecting others?

To the degree that we close our hearts to our neighbors – and our enemies - is the degree that we close our hearts to God. That is what Jesus taught. “As you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, so you have done to me.” Take a moment to be mindful of your heart. It may save your soul … and our nation.