With all of the news in recent days and weeks about this group versus that group, this policy or that policy, this statement or that statement, it has been quite a time of upheaval and chaos. There has been more than enough demagoguery to go around.
We are in, as my father would have said, “a mell of a hess.” We are fighting against one another at what might be seen as an unprecedented level. It seems as if we have divided ourselves into separate tribes, and dug our heels in on any kind of compromise or understanding between the two.
The place we find ourselves in this time is not a good place to be. We see each other as either comrades or enemies. It seems to me this is not at all where we are called to be.
Paul, in Ephesians 4:3 urges us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” There seems as if little to no effort is being made toward peace and harmony with the opposing sides.
I’ve been told there are always two sides to every story. I take that to mean the important things that drive us are almost never clear-cut and absolute. We live in a world where lots of gray fuzzy lines exist. One side sees an issue one way, the other side sees it another way. Maybe the best starting place is somewhere in the middle.
We seem to be starting at the places where we disagree, and that can be a recipe for intractable division. Maybe the starting place should be where we agree. Once we have a framework of what we agree on, maybe where we disagree won’t seem as large and insurmountable.
It has always been easier to divide people than unite them. Fear, hatred and misinformation are the arsenal of those who glory in igniting divisions. These persons know if they can get a group to hate another group, they can then step into that chaos and exploit it.
Again, Paul reminds us in Romans 16:17-18…”I urge you brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissentions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded.”
Please don’t send my emails saying I’m calling one side or the other “simple-minded,” I’m not. I’m just telling you what I read in the Bible.
What I will say is, anyone using divisive language and tactics are not doing so from a Christian perspective. What I’m saying is one of the greatest blessings to be found in scripture comes from Numbers 6:24-26…”The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” God knows peace is the state God intends for all humankind to exist in. God knows we not only need peace, but without it we will destroy ourselves.
Jesus told us in Matthew 5:9…”Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Clearly peace is the will of God. Peacemaking is a divine activity, and those who engage in the practice, are an extension of God’s will.
Friends, I believe we are at a tipping point in this time, we have to find better ways to relate to each other beyond division, hate and animosity. If we are truly followers of Jesus, we will begin to walk in the ways of peace. This doesn’t mean we give up on issues of justice, issues of fairness, issues of equality. This doesn’t mean we have to agree with each other on every item in a long list of divisive issues. What it means is, we find ways to speak civilly to one another. We find ways to unite around common goals and understandings. We find ways to exist with each other, without demonizing those we disagree with. In short, we find ways to be at peace.
This isn’t easy. It means sometimes we have to do the hard work of changing hearts and minds, one at a time. It means we have to be “wise as serpents and gentle as doves,” as Jesus urges us. And speaking of Jesus, let us remember, Jesus went to the cross rather than to urge his followers to hate those who hate them.
May God love us into peace with one another.
Your companion on the Way,
Pastor Tom