Does our language dehumanise?

Demonstrate respect by focussing on understanding the other person’s perspective — without planning your rebuttal while they are speaking! Could your small groups benefit from intentionally practising this next time they meet?

Admittedly easier said than done! Taking deep breaths may seem basic advice but it’s good advice and can really help. Remaining calm will help you choose humanising language and resist using insensitive or unkind vocabulary. Perhaps choose a Bible verse to think on when you begin to feel irritated.

• Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. James 1:19
• In your anger do not sin. Ephesians 4:26–27
• Anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement… anyone who says, ​‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:22

If it works for you, share the suggestion with others in your church.

Give yourself and others permission to take a break if you sense the conversation is becoming too emotional. It’s perfectly okay to take a moment to collect one’s thoughts. If a conversation becomes too heated, stop and agree on some mutual boundaries, or suggest continuing the discussion at another time.

Express your feelings and opinions using statements like ​‘I feel’ or ​‘I think’ rather than ​‘You always’ or ​‘You never’. This reduces the likelihood of the other person feeling attacked and heightening their emotions. Remind yourself to focus on the issue, not the person (who is created in the image of God).

Make a point to look for areas of agreement or shared values. This can help build a foundation for mutual understanding.

Whilst reflecting on the language we choose to use in our conversations around politics, you and your church may want to bear in mind Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31–46). Jesus makes it plain that what we do to others, we do to him; and what we neglect doing for others, we neglect doing for him.

Jesus’ parable is a sobering reminder to us, as Christians and church communities, that any form of dehumanisation, discrimination or harm against others is taken personally by Jesus. After all, the gospel centres around a loving God making an extraordinary sacrifice to reconcile people to himself and into his kingdom. Seeing God’s kingdom come is often why we are having these discussions in the first place, so let’s concentrate on loving people well rather than winning the argument.