Liberty And Justice For All And Other Musings On Unity

Liberty and justice for all.

Written in 1892, the pledge of allegiance was written to remind Americans of two great ideas that should unify us all. First, we are endowed by our Creator with certain rights, among those, liberty. Freedom to pursue our dreams and live our lives.  Freedom to make our own choices. Second, justice for all, that if your freedom is impeded, if you are wronged, every person deserves a just path to pursue in order to make things right.

Unfortunately, we have become so politicized in this country that new ideas have taken hold. Liberty and justice for all has been replaced by political victory and power. Freedom has taken a back seat to victory and justice has taken a back seat to power. The pursuit of these ideas has led to an incredible breakdown of unity in our nation. Power and control are not exactly ideas that promote or encourage unity.

Our nation has settled for less, may the same thing never be said of the church.

In every church experiencing major conflict, 2 things are true:

First, there was a time that church was unified around big ideas. Worshipping Jesus, serving the community, and teaching people to follow God to name a few.

Second, there came a time when these big ideas were replaced with power and control. Big ideas (Jesus) were replaced by lesser ideas.

A passion to worship Jesus was replaced by a passion about masks.

A desire to serve the community was replaced by a desire to see my songs sung.

A longing to teach people was replaced by a longing to get my way.

Power and control.

The Apostle Paul addressed a church division in the book of 1 Corinthians. The Christians in that church were arguing over which teacher was best. Sound silly? I am not sure it is any sillier than arguing over politics, masks, music, or seating in the church. Here is what he wrote:

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 1 Corinthians 3

Quarreling and jealousy are described as infantile, worldly, and merely human. Later he will describe the argument as wasted work. No church wants to feel like their efforts are wasted, but the truth is, a church that is divided over the less important is engaging in wasted work. They need to keep their eyes focused on the most important. The work that really matters most.

I am concerned about the church. I am hearing about churches, almost daily, that are experiencing great conflict over mask mandates, political viewpoints, and how to engage in spending during uncertain times.  Some of these conflicts are making the worship wars of the 1990’s look like a kids water gun fight.

Repentance is needed.

Recalibration is needed.

Refocus is needed.

The church needs to focus right now, because we have a light, hope, and peace that can make a difference in our world. People will not be able to hear it if all they hear is our infighting. They will not be able to see it if all they see is conflict. We can do better.