Tuesday,
March 23, 2021
How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! Psalm 133:1
It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie.[1]
Walter Brueggemann follows
the thought:
For me, both quotes are poignant commentary on Paul:
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13
All
three thoughts are part of the same idea concerning the kind of unity with
which we can survive (and thrive), and that which condemns us to revisit
original sin. Of the three, Adrian Rogers
puts it on the shelf low enough for even a small child: it is better to be divided by truth
than to be united in error.
You
hear a lot about “unity” these days, especially out of Washington, D.C... Although it is never articulated (and how
could politicians ever be clear), is that what they mean by political unity
is for all of us to think like they do, so we can set things up like we all want. An irascible fly in that formula for the petulance
of keeping the powerful in power, is that unity (to a politician) means do
it my way, even if it means ignoring any truth that contradicts what I want.
A
disclaimer – I’m about to use political realities to illustrate what I’ve just
said about Rogers, Bruggemann, and Paul, but these are not political
plugs. More so, these will
show us what living under political banners causes – the kind of unity two cats
have when their tails are tied together.
The
previous administration was entirely about power and economy. Led
by a businessman-turned-politician, putting America first was the Holy
Land. The current administration lauds
equality and justice. Led by a career
politician, the new Nirvana is holding hands at whatever cost. The Republican party “values” center on the
economic status quo and keeping the rules.
The Democratic party “values” almost no rules, and a Federal open-door
policy to the treasury. Both parties
want everyone in the land to bow to their way of doing things. In real-time what they are proposing is not
unity, but uniformity, falling in lock-step behind the current leader, even if
it means walking off the cliff of truth.
In
short, Republicans need to read God’s take on materialism, you know, that
irritating little thing about rich people ignoring the poor, and finding the
gateway to Heaven a little cramped?
In
short, Democrats could do well to remember that “equal” and “just” extend to
all of life, even those living in the womb.
For You Today
A truly “woke” America isn’t just about ending oppression
of one race, gender issues, or political strategies. A truly woke America would be one that has
learned (again) to be humble before He who is truly God.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky
Road; have a blessed day!
[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
[2] The New Interpreter’s Bible (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1994) P.414
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