Draw the Circle Wide

I was once in a class where the facilitator asked us to raise our hands as high as we could.

𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲. Everyone raised their hand.

Then he said, “Now raise it higher.” Interesting.

Every hand went higher, proving that we had in fact not put forth our best effort in the first round.

This experiment in self-awareness has stuck with me for over 30 years now, a metaphorical reminder of my own culpability in not reaching as high as I can.

Fast forward to church last Sunday. Our congregation is joyously singing “Draw the Circle Wide.”

♫ 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑔, 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 ♫

How lovely. Yes, of course, we are Christians, and we love others.

𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐲. I raise my hand.

Then, I re-read the whole verse.

♫ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒.

𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙.

𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑔, 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒.

𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒. ♫

Interesting. Draw it WIDER still.

I realized our Christian culpability in not drawing the circle as wide as we can. In fact, America’s Christianity is best known for drawing boundaries to define who is “in” or “out.”

The call to draw the circle wide, and wider still, goes far beyond being kind to everyone, or saying that “we welcome everyone to our church”, or claiming colorblindness. That is narrowing the message of Jesus. That is not raising our hands as high as we can.

If we are truly stretching, we must also be candid with ourselves about the ways we have chosen to exclude. The ways our little circle keeps life easy, familiar, and safe. That when we use our faith as a weapon, we build impenetrable walls. Our teeny circles prevent us from savoring the beauty in the colors and flavors and textures of our diverse humanity.

And drawing the circle wider still is about action.

𝑁𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.

So, I’ll ask myself questions that might inspire you as well.

1. What did I do today to speak up against hate speech?

2. When did I make an effort to learn something today from someone who doesn’t look like me?

3. How can I support someone whose life chances have been more limited than mine?

♫ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒.

𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙.

𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑔, 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒.

𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒. ♫