“I hate Donald Trump!”
“Hillary’s a liar!”
“Republicans are evil!”
“Democrats are traitors!”
Rhetoric like this spews from our television sets and is tweeted over the Internet every day. Even in lunch rooms at work, the halls of our schools, and from the podiums of our churches, hate-filled speech seems to have become our native voice.
We live in a house divided, a land where even the words, “One Nation Under God” are a trigger for debate. Republicans hate Hillary! Democrats hate Trump! Blacks hate whites and whites hate blacks! Christians hate Muslims and Muslims hate Jews!
This is not the way it was meant to be! We are supposed to be the “United” States, but instead we have become a nation torn apart.
If only we would take Jesus’ advice to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, what a different land this would be! Imagine how things would change if:
- Instead of bipartisan bickering, our politicians did some bipartisan praying.
- Police agreed that black lives mattered and blacks accepted that blue lives did too.
- Instead of throwing rocks at each other, we sat down together and passed the potatoes.
If we’d all learn to pray for those we disagree with I think we’d find a lot more to agree on.
“Pie-in-the-sky” thinking? Maybe so, but it’s what Jesus told us to do, so I think it’s worth a try. It has to start somewhere, so why not with you and with I?
Loving our enemies and praying for those who despitefully use us is not natural for us, but God calls us to a higher standard.
We can shout and scream at each other all we want, but it’s not going to change a thing. But if we love like Jesus loves and pray like Jesus prayed, change will happen, even if it’s just in our own hearts.
Give it a try today! Choose to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” After all, aren’t we all children of our Father in heaven? It’s high time we started acting like we were!