How Do We See Each Other?

This article is not about politics. This space is for spiritual things. However, I want to use two related political topics to make my point for today’s post.

On Saturday, a friend who is a writer, former preacher, and fellow Christian posted an ABC News graphic that predicted an overwhelming electoral college victory for former President Donald Trump. My friend is not a political conservative—he’s far from it. As I typed my response, I could hear Trump saying what I wrote, “It’s such a beautiful map.” My friend responded with a graphic of a guy doing a facepalm.

That says it all. He and I see the world in a completely different way. I don’t understand his worldview, politics, or opinions. He doesn’t understand mine. Sometimes, I wonder if we live in an alternate reality. But rather than argue with him, I said, “Love you, brother. Glad we can disagree and still be friends.”

In the wake of last week’s assassination attempt on the former President, Melania Trump wrote a fantastic letter to the people of our country. In calling for national unity, she said the assassin saw her husband as “an inhuman political machine” who ignored his human side, “the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times.” She concluded her words by saying, “Thank you for remembering that every single politician is a man or woman with a loving family.”

The national events of the last week have been tumultuous. We are in for a long ride over the next four months. Anything can happen. The nation is being and will be further tested. What will come will either drive us further apart or … begin the healing process that leads to greater unity. Each of us has to decide collectively how we will respond. We can, as the former first lady says, “ascend above the hate” and demand “that respect fills the cornerstone of our relationships again.” To best accomplish this, American citizens must turn back to God.

I am convinced there is a spiritual application to all of this. How do we see those we disagree with in the universal church or within our local congregation? Do we remember that they are our brother and sisters? Have we forgotten that they have good hearts, love the Lord, and sacrifice mightily for Him? Or do we only view them through the issues?
How does Satan destroy unity? One of his most effective ways is to get us to attach a label. When we reduce a brother or sister to a label “liberal,” “conservative,” “anti,” “progressive,” “neo-Calvinist,” or “one-cupper,” we dehumanize them and make it easier to justify the construction of a wall of division. Love, empathy, and understanding go out the window, and the simple dismissal of these brethren becomes a subtle part of the practice of our religion.

Last week, in Missouri, I stood in a room filled with almost 2,000 people engaged in singing, prayer, and worship. These were my brothers and sisters. I disagree with them on specific practices, but I must never forget their hearts and my bond with them through Jesus Christ. We need to get to know each other and see each other through the lens of what Jesus intended: fellow believers who are part of His church, love the Lord and want to be with Him. We are, as Paul said, “all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Biblical unity is about seeking harmony, love, mutual respect, and peace. As we seek to maintain it, we reflect God’s character, love, and power. He wants us to set aside our differences and unite on common ground.

We need more humility, forgiveness, and love. These will help us treat others with kindness and respect. They will facilitate understanding and empathy and ultimately lead to the construction of bridges instead of walls. Remember, walls of separation are the work of Satan while building bridges of togetherness is the work of our God.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and were all made to drink of one Spirit.
–1 Corinthians 12:13

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!
– Psalm 133.1