Why Are We So Divided?
We live in a world marked by racial, political, cultural, and even religious division. The question I want to ask is simple: Why are we so divided?
We have all heard the adage that opposites attract, so are differing opinions really the cause? I do not think so. I can go to a buffet, choose chicken and mashed potatoes, and feel no anger toward the person beside me who dislikes chicken and prefers pork and rice. I may drive a truck without detesting someone who drives a sports car. I like the Georgia Bulldogs, but I do not dislike my grandson because he is an Alabama fan.
The Roots of Division
Where, then, do hatred and vitriol come from? I believe they often grow out of arrogance and ignorance.
Arrogance convinces me that I am completely right and that anyone who challenges my opinion—even slightly—must be my enemy. Yet two people may each be partly right and partly wrong. They may view an issue from different angles while meaning or feeling much the same thing, but they struggle to express it clearly. It is arrogant to assume that my way of thinking must be perfect or unquestionably correct. The truth is, I have been wrong before, and there is a good possibility that I will be wrong again.
Ignorance also fuels division. If the real enemy—not the other person, but Satan—has his way, he will persuade me to view my mission field as my enemy. He will lead me to hate the very people God commands me to love.
Our Calling to Love
I am not here to prove to everyone around me that I am right. I am here to help people who are wrong learn how to be right with God. I cannot win people to Christ if I have committed myself to being against them.
I must be for people, regardless of their opposing views. I can hate sin while loving the sinner, and I can hate Satan while loving the people he has deceived.
God so loved the world that He gave. If I truly love people, I must also learn to give in order to reach them.
Pastor,
Rev. Wayne Marcus
We live in a world marked by racial, political, cultural, and even religious division. The question I want to ask is simple: Why are we so divided?
We have all heard the adage that opposites attract, so are differing opinions really the cause? I do not think so. I can go to a buffet, choose chicken and mashed potatoes, and feel no anger toward the person beside me who dislikes chicken and prefers pork and rice. I may drive a truck without detesting someone who drives a sports car. I like the Georgia Bulldogs, but I do not dislike my grandson because he is an Alabama fan.
The Roots of Division
Where, then, do hatred and vitriol come from? I believe they often grow out of arrogance and ignorance.
Arrogance convinces me that I am completely right and that anyone who challenges my opinion—even slightly—must be my enemy. Yet two people may each be partly right and partly wrong. They may view an issue from different angles while meaning or feeling much the same thing, but they struggle to express it clearly. It is arrogant to assume that my way of thinking must be perfect or unquestionably correct. The truth is, I have been wrong before, and there is a good possibility that I will be wrong again.
Ignorance also fuels division. If the real enemy—not the other person, but Satan—has his way, he will persuade me to view my mission field as my enemy. He will lead me to hate the very people God commands me to love.
Our Calling to Love
I am not here to prove to everyone around me that I am right. I am here to help people who are wrong learn how to be right with God. I cannot win people to Christ if I have committed myself to being against them.
I must be for people, regardless of their opposing views. I can hate sin while loving the sinner, and I can hate Satan while loving the people he has deceived.
God so loved the world that He gave. If I truly love people, I must also learn to give in order to reach them.
Pastor,
Rev. Wayne Marcus
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