Human beings by nature are divisive. We like to categorize, control, and push away those who do not act or look like we do. The Church is meant to reflect a level of unity that puts the world on notice, and certify that the return of the everlasting King of the universe is immanent. We are intended to be a visible, physical representation of the kingdom of heaven. So the question then becomes, why are we so divided? Within American Christianity there are over 1,500 different denominations and world-wide there are as many as 41,000. That’s right; this is how many denominations there are in Christianity alone, not religions in the world.
Well I asked and you guys delivered, so here we go. This week I am writing on the topic of how we speak to one another, not only as brothers and sisters in the faith but also in how we dialogue with other people in general. Now I had always known that scripture had quite a bit to say on this topic, but I had underestimated how much it had to say. So without writing a book…I am going to focus on one or two texts in particular and go from there.
Sunday morning has been called by many, “The most segregated hour in America.” There was a time I would have vehemently denied such a remark…that time no longer exists. If you remember last week, I wrote about how in Michigan 8.2 miles separates a poverty stricken area from one of the most affluent communities in the country. I also made the observation that when you go to churches in those areas that you are likely to see a community that reflects the area in which is presides. This observation is confirmed by a study carried out by Lifeway Research and published January of this year.
It is amazing to me how good we are at deceiving ourselves. One moment we are doing something we should not be and in the next moment acting as if the previous moment never occurred. Seeing things for what they are rather than how we’d like them to be can be a challenge. Every man who committed an evil act began in that act with good intentions. Hitler wanted to see the German people be proud in being German again. His love for his people, and his culture drove him to madness. He is now considered the most evil man of the 20th century if not the most evil man to have ever walked the face of the earth. Hitler had deceived himself into thinking that his actions were right, despite the physical evidence proving that they were not.
Satan is winning . . . and we are letting him. It’s a sad reality that I for one am ashamed to admit, but it is a true statement nonetheless. If there is anything Satan is good at, it is accentuating our current flaws and taking advantage of them while they are at their most potent. Human beings are naturally sectarian . . . we are naturally afraid of things that aren’t familiar to us, that don’t make sense to us.
THE NERDY THEOLOGIAN 