The Greatest Threat

While we go about our business on this Monday morning there is a threat that neither Democrats or Republicans seem to want to confront. We hear it articulated clearly and forcefully in today’s gospel.

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand

Now before we start looking around for someone to blame, we need to look inside. We need to asked ourselves “How do I participate in the dividing?” and “What have I done to encourage unity?”

But before we can seriously answer either of those questions, we must each ask a more fundamental question: Do I believe the gospel? Do I really believe that a house, a kingdom, a nation divivided cannot stand? Do I see division as the greatest threat to national security?

Once we embrace the gospel and believe in our hearts that a house divided cannot stand, then we can each begin to take steps to ended the division. 

It’s starts by each of us refusing to propagate the caricatures. Enough with hyperbole. We have to stop liking, sharing, and retweeting anger. Democrats do not hate babies and the military.  Republicans do not hate women and Latinos.  Members of both parties are men and women who love their families and friends, and most of all love their country. They simply disagree about the best path for our nations. No one party is always right. No one party is always wrong.  Many of our founders worried that political parties would ruin us. They appear to have foreseen this very moment. 

Step two: we need to be informed and engaged. We need to focus on issues not people or parties. As Christians, a part of loving even your enemies is the willingness to truly listen to the other side.

Step Three: Encourage the better sides of our politicians. Most of our elected figures are people of faith. Most are Christians. Imagine if we wrote to them and encouraged them to behave like Christians. 

And we should wrap it all in prayer, daily prayer for our country and ita elected officials. 

We have been better than this and we can be better than this again. We can and should have intense debates about the issues, but I truly believe we can do it without the anger, hate, and personal attack that is guaranteed to destroy us.