We are family
I love our country similar to how I love my family.
Our family has an incredible bond, and we really prioritize and enjoy being with each other. Whether you were born in, married in, or just happen to be a good friend, we love to create space to just be with each other and share our connected identity. We come together for holidays and celebrations, graduations and weddings. We always have space for each other when we need a good conversation or a place to get out of town. I can't tell you how many games of Hearts or songs of horribly, off-key karaoke I endured growing up as we hung out for hours after holiday meals or birthdays. There is an overabundance of welcoming to our tables because we are united by the idea that we are family first and foremost.
This is a really good thing because we are an incredibly diverse group of people! We range across generations from two years old to 90 years old. We hold a broad spectrum of jobs and incomes and boast very diverse political views, social opinions, and geographic locations. On the faith front, we range from extremely conservative, fundamentalist Christian to an ordained, lesbian chaplain to a rather militant atheist. We boast Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and even a rather out-of-the-box anarchist. This is the kind of group that typically has every reason to be divided and not talk to each other.
And, yet, I'll say it again: we really enjoy and value each other and being together.
That is what I have loved about my country, too. I've traveled all over the world to a wide variety of cultures and nations, and there is something beautiful and unique about the bond we have as Americans. We've come together through the years to build and accomplish some of the most incredible things our world has seen. From landing on the moon to building incredible infrastructures to creating some of the best schools in the world to propelling civil rights, to having a mostly corruption free police force and political system, to oh-so-many more areas of growth, innovation, and cultural transformation. Our progress through the last couple hundred years is singularly unique. And we've shared progress and accomplishments, intentionally or otherwise, with so much more of the world and helped lead growth and change worldwide.
I believe we have been able to do this not despite our differences but because of them. Historically, our differences have led to innovation, cooperation, challenging each other, and the progressive building up of our nation because we have brought them to each other under the central idea that we are all Americans. We have used our differences to strengthen and grow our country as "iron sharpens iron," and we have risen to incredible heights because of it. This has been able to happen because our differences have become strengths. Because we understood that we are Americans first and foremost.
As this election has shown us so starkly, I'm concerned that our nation's people are beginning to lose sight of our identity as Americans first and foremost. We are starting to emphasize and focus on our differences and, worse, define each other primarily by those differences. We don't talk as much about "us" as Americans anymore. Instead, we choose to talk about "us" as Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, progressives, Christians, Muslims, urban folk, rural folk, white, black, or any other of a myriad of distinctions between us. We are losing our collective focus on the things that unite us and, instead, majoring on the things that divide us.
When that happens, when we lose our focus on what unites us, the diversity, and the differences between us stop being a collective strength and instead turn us on ourselves. People began hating each other, grouping each other into friend and foe camps, and working to tear each other down. Our energy and efforts shift from collectively working together to defending and protecting ourselves and our "group" or attacking others who are different. When the differences are the primary focus, the group's ability to do great things through their diversity is stunted. Ultimately, the group falls apart.
Though I fear the nation is trending toward this kind of division, I also don't believe all hope is lost. God has his church here in America for a reason! As Christians, we need to lead the charge for our country back toward unity because we, more than the world ever could, understand this way of seeing diversity. As Christians, our identity is always first and foremost found in Christ. No matter the circumstances around us, we understand his calling always wins out over our differences of opinion. Unity within the body of Christ is our guiding principle and our mandate for demonstrating God to the world. As Jesus said, "they will know you are Christians by your love for one another."
Our country needs to be reminded that there are bigger things to look for than the things that separate us. We have an awesome opportunity to demonstrate that. Certainly, we hope the people in our nation can find that same central calling to unity with diversity through joining the family of God. But, until that happens, we also need to help our nation see the importance of unity with diversity as Americans. We need to help our neighbors see that there is far more holding us together than tearing us apart.
This political chaos and difficulty is a tremendous opportunity for the church of Jesus Christ! We have a chance to truly "shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life" to those trapped in the darkness of division and hate. If we do this, not only will Christians leading toward unity help heal our nation and transform our divisions from liabilities to strengths, but it will also provide a way for people to see Jesus. If we can show people how to be united despite our differences, Jesus tells us they will know we are Christians and, by extension, see him. As they see Christians surrendered to a higher identity and calling, putting family first so-to-speak, that will bear witness to a way out of all this chaos and division!
On the heels of this election, regardless of who wins (as I write this, we don't know yet), will you join with me in helping point our nation to a higher calling? Our divisions don't have to be liabilities! Let's let the church of Christ arise and be known for our "love for one another," so that the world may see Jesus. It is the way!
We might all be part of a big, messy family, but I love us, and I'm glad you are along for the ride with me. There is always room at my table for a good conversation.
Peace to you!
Trevor Owen
Pastor of Spiritual Development
