Peace and Unity?

Enough with the religious fluff, legalism, showmanship, politicizing, racism, and the like. “The devil’s trademark attack is to draw us away from the simplicity of faith in Christ…Satan’s strategy is to use the educated elite, the mind manipulators, and the brilliant thinkers of history to lure people away from simplicity of devotion to Christ and biblical authority.” Chuck Swindoll

On the same hand, we have some amazing Christian minds from history and today who were/are educated, brilliant thinkers, and non-mind manipulators, who intelligently lead people to this simple faith in absolute truth.

2 Corinthians 13:3-4 “But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.”

I never post anything political or controversial on Facebook because I don’t like the hatred that is expressed and spewed by both Democrats and Republicans, diverse ethnicities, Christians and non-Christians, etc. I appreciate good, hearty debate if exercised in love with the end desire being peace and unity. It just never appears to be that way. One of the things that really bothers me is the Christian who criticizes without praying for the person they judge. If they do, you would never know it by the things they post. Is it really too hard to pray for our President and other Republicans, that God would give him (them) wisdom, clarity, and proper judgment, instead of ripping him (them) to shreds like the media does? Whether you agree with him or not, God is using our President. Would it be too difficult to pray for the former Democratic Presidential Candidate or other Democrats that if it’s God’s will, and they stand for godly principles, to be put into office? The bottom line: Do we pray for peace and unity on all sides or just for “my side?” Jesus said, “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” (Matthew 5:44). He took no political sides, when it came to paying taxes, He even said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” (Matthew 22:21)

“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God…The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good.” Romans 13:1,4 God even allows evil rulers to reign to show countries and the world how deprave mankind can really be which proves our desperate need of Him and godly leadership. King Saul was dethroned by King David because David was a “man after God’s own heart.”

No matter what our belief, our political authorities have been placed there by God. So, if we really believe this and have attitudes that actually abide in this reality, maybe, just maybe, we will begin to sow the seeds of peace and unity through our prayer life for this divided country.

Don’t be deceived, remember, “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 Let none of us be deceived by the sound bites the media continually force feeds us. So much stuff is taken out of context (on all sides). All the while, we may never know the absolute truth or motivation. Yet we get sucked in. King David had every right to retaliate, spew dissent and hatred when being hunted by Saul and later by his own son Absalom. But he always submitted. Always trusted that God was in control. Psalm 115:3 says it well: “Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.”

Like I said, I’m really getting sick of all of hatred spewed on Facebook. When I read this quote by Thomas Merton, the truth hit me like a runaway train: “Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself. He is not at peace with himself because he is not at peace with God.” If only we would see this truth as the reason for so much tension in this country it would drive us to our knees! We would tremble at the reality of it! We’re so busy complaining that we’re forgetting our mandate to be those who bring reconciliation between God and man.

Where is your energy being spent? Tearing down or building up? Like Jesus, be used by the Spirit to change a person’s heart, then the mind will change. Jesus told us our energy should be spent on going into all the world and making disciples (Matthew 28) and that we would receive power when the Holy Spirit would come upon us so that we would be His witnesses in our community, in our country, and around the world (Acts 1:8). That is awesome energy spent!

These turbulent days it’s difficult for me to have political conversations because people tend to judge, jump to conclusions, make assumptions, with no resolve the result. And those, my friend, are what sow seeds of disunity. The only way we will find unity, unconditional love, and peace with fellow man is when we are truly at peace with God through Christ. And sometimes finding that peace with God is submitting to the plan of authority He has ordained whether we like it or not. And either way, we must pray for our elected officials not to do what we want, rather what God wants for this country. 

You see, Jesus is the unifier, yet our culture looks at Him as the divider. He is the healer, yet our culture looks at Him as the disease. He is pure love, yet our culture looks at Him as the root of hatred and religious bigotry. He sees no color, died for all tribes and nations, yet our culture considers Him the western white man’s bigoted god.

As the Unifier, if we all look to Him, and allow His Spirit to illuminate our hearts; we therefore cannot, will not, and would not, be able able to respond by hatred causing discord and disunity. Our only response would be love causing peace and unity.

Read these almost prophetic words by the Christian mystic Thomas Merton over 50 years ago:

“It always gets back to the same thing. I have dutifully done my bit. I have been “open to the world.” That is to say, I have undergone my dose of exposure to American society  in the ’60s—particularly in these last weeks. I love the people I run into, but I   pity them for having to live as they do, and I think the world of U.S.A. in 1967 is a world of crass, blind, overstimulated, phony, lying stupidity. The war in Asia slowly  gets worse—and almost more inane. The temper of the country is one of blindness, fat, self-satisfied, ruthless, mindless corruption. A lot of people are uneasy about it but helpless to do anything against it. The rest are perfectly content with the rat race as it is, and with its competitive, acquisitive, hurtling, souped-up drive into nowhere. A massively aimless, baseless, shrewd cockiness that simply exalts itself without purpose. The mindless orgasm, in which there is no satisfaction, only spasm.”  May 27, 1967