Different People, One God

This post was inspired by two things. The first is the political climate in recent times. Personally, I don't really like to be partisan. I tend to lean towards an individual than the party they belong too. But not many people are like that. Most people, once interested in an issue, love the dogfight with others on the opposite end of that issue. And that's okay; partisan polarization is not the enemy. There is a reason functioning democracies thrive on it. What is dangerous is spewing hatred because someone disagrees with you. People will disagree with you. Deal with it.

The second reason is because of a discussion between my friend and I on wedding vows. Now I vehemently disagree with her reasoning and will not be stating details of her position here because...well, I'm certain she will change her point of view. I don't want that point of view to be on record. But you see, she backed her views with God's words. I did back mine with God's words too. Differing opinions, one God.

Nevertheless, as human beings, we are notorious for believing our ways are the right ways. There is a vilification of the "other".   Since we definitely interpret things differently from one another, it's no surprise disagreements abound. That's fine. I just need you to know that  someone disagreeing with you does not make them the enemy. It doesn't make them less of a Christian than you. When it comes to Christianity, no one person has a monopoly on Jesus. No one person—well except Jesus himself—has the final say.

So we don't have to take everything we hear hook, line and sinker. What does Jesus say? What does Jesus want? At the same time, we don't have to antagonize every singe person or idea to prove superiority. Disagree with grace; prove your point with grace; but never think being a Christian is equal to stupidity. Have principles; take a stand. God doesn't hate that.  God gave us minds for a reason. He gave us complex, beautiful, brilliant minds and does not mind us reasoning, thinking and maybe even questioning things every once in a while. It's okay to be confused. Just accept that there is a mystery to life, accept that no matter how hard you try, you would never know or get all the answers. Yes, even science—which  some people swear by—does not have all the answers. That's where God's superiority comes in.

You know, my pastor gave an analogy today, which I think proves my point even further. Look at Jesus's disciples; look at the breadth and diversity of what they embodied. Some were fishermen, some were zealots, who opposed Roman oppression (my pastor joked you could probably call them modern day terrorists), yet some others (Matthew, a Roman employee) were tax collectors—I mean a literal representation of Roman oppression haha. So before you go off writing someone off because one idea they have is different or before your condescending self starts to feel all superior, chill out. God is probably snickering. There is no homogeneity amongst his people. Heck, he's a creative God, you can't expect him to create a bunch of similar people with similar ideas. Nope.

However, though we differ, our love of God and acceptance of his grace makes us all common citizens of his kingdom. And that's the most important thing: an unwavering love for Christ and obedience of his word.

P.S: Needless to say, you should know that despite the kumbaya I just sang, there is right and there is wrong. The bible states this clearly. There is varying opinions, varying beliefs, and there is stupidity. We know that bigotry, racism and misogyny are wrong. So don't come to me with faux neutrality or blatant bigotry in the name of differing opinion. I will check you on that :-)

Peace out,

I