We as humans have a need for something to believe in, we can become quite passionate when we dedicate ourselves to a cause. There was a time not so long ago when morals and values were imperative, and the golden rule “do unto others has you would have them do unto you” was adhered too by most. Today, the loudest cultural voices would have you to believe that those days are over, but they don’t have to be.
When you think about it, you don’t need any ones permission to still be a good neighbor. You need no approval to be kind to a child or an elderly person, even in these crazy times. There is no permit required to be respectful to someone with which you disagree. These are still just choices we can make.
An honest analysis of the division, violence and destructiveness we are seeing, most certainly has a root cause.
Is it merely our differences of opinion, is it our lack of understanding one another; or is it something much deeper? Have you stopped to ask yourself, what is fueling the cultural breakdown among us?
If we are honest, we have to admit the accelerant fueling the fires of cultural chaos is hatred. What else would motivate a young person to assault an elderly stranger? What else would cause a young person in their teens to murder their own parents? As you know, love has a lot of emotion attached to it. Hatred on the opposite end of the spectrum has a deep emotional component too. Love guided only by emotions is reckless and unreliable. The emotionalism of hatred is dangerous, destructive and even deadly.
If allowed to, hatred will flourish in the differences people have with each other; this is so unfortunate. Today we have become divided along the lines of politics, religion, socio economic status, and race and just about anything else that highlights our differences. So where do we go from here? Will we continue to devolve into an unrecognizable version of who we could have been?
God forbid that we miss our chance to turn in the correct direction and experience cultural reconciliation. Before you allow skepticism to overrule such a notion remember this fact. It was 12-year-old boy, James Mastronardo that submitted the following words of scripture “With God all things are possible” and this biblical statement would be adopted as the motto of the state of Ohio. Perhaps we should adopt again the belief that with God change is possible.
So then, let us understand we will likely never agree on every matter nor should this even be a goal. We may never achieve unity either and that is ok. What we can do is purpose to be kind, love others and forgive those that have wronged us. With God, this too is possible.
I am certain that believing the bible doesn’t make one a bigot. However using the principle of scripture against our neighbor without love for them certainly could. If we would as a society identify our own prejudices and hatred, and replace it with the genuine love of God we would see dramatic change in our world.
The love of God is the most powerful force in the world, we can continue to be brutalized by hate or we can let God’s love bring healing and reconciliation in him and with each other. The question remains, where do we go from here?
