Why We All Cannot Just Get Along

In case you are wondering, and I know some of you are, this title was there in my spirit at 3:30 this morning. I resisted the urge to get up and write anything about it. I am sure I will get back to it soon and you will not even notice the time lapse. Right now, though, I have to finish the one I started last week and did not get to yesterday because I am still painting.

Ok, I am back. The title of this post is of course a take off of the famous quote from Rodney King who was a victim of police brutality in 1991. After being beaten while resisting arrest, he and some friends tried to turn the incident into a racial thing. He won a civil judgement. The Superior court of Los Angeles County aquitted all four of the police officers involved, but two were later found guilty in Federal court and sent to prison.

The question before us is can we get along with people with whom we are not in agreement? Amos asks, "Can two walk together unless they are agreed?" (Amos 3:3) Clearly the answer he expects is "No". We are all going to have to get on the same page if we want to walk together. We are not only going to have to be on the same page with one another, but on the same page with God as well. I have lost count of how many times we have referred to Psalm 14:12 in this blog, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Then again, I cannot even remember what all is in the blog without going back and perusing the titles of posts past.

Most people would like to live at peace with their fellow man. Peace is a noble aspiration. Isaiah, speaking prophetically says Jesus will be called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), but Jesus Himself said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34) In elaborating on that statement He said we are not worthy of being called His disciples if we love anything more than we love Him. That would certainly include peace.

So now we have another question to answer. What is really worth fighting for? My answer may surprise you. Then again some of you know me well enough to not be too surprised by anything. Nonetheless, when we list the things that are important to us in this life, my considered opinion is that we will end up like the Apostle Paul listing his pedigree and accomplishments and coming to the conclusion, "I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:8) This from a man who had been religiously and zealously persecuting The Church before being powerfully confronted by Jesus during a ministry trip. I am guessing his list changed as he considered that encounter. I know my list changed when I truly understood who Jesus is and what He had done for me. I had already been a Christian for almost a decade. Jesus was real and I knew He could be counted on in times of need. I was just missing the power to change from a self-centered iconoclast to a person who can usually put other people's needs ahead of my own. Now that I am thinking about that, maybe that is why I do not offend people as easily as I once did. Hmmm, there may be something to that. I mean some people actually like me now.

Ok, back to the present. Where was I? Was I making a point? Oh yes, I remember. Why we all cannot just get along. If you have been paying attention, the reason we cannot all get along is because we cannot agree on what is really worth fighting for. Even if we could agree on the what, we would have trouble coming to consensus on the how. Thank God He never asks us to come to consensus. You do know consensus of the majority, or majority rule as it is usually called, is strictly a democratic concept that is contrary to scripture? Sir Winston Churchill said, "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." (I am assuming he is the one who said it originally and was simply using a rhetorical device here since he does not actually quote anyone else.)

There is another form of government that was tried. God set Israel up as a theocracy. As long as they followed Him, life was good. Whenever they turned to their own way, things did not work out as well. The people were constantly whining and complaining about one thing or another. In breaking down their complaints, they all come down to, "I am not getting what I want." Not much has changed in the intervening millenia. They asked for a king so they could be like everyone else. Samuel, who as leading the nation at the time, tried to talk them out of it. They persisted and God said they were rejecting Him. (1 Samuel 8:7) That is really an ugly place to be, rejecting God.

We cannot form an actual theocracy in this time in history, at least not to any great extent. There is something we can do though. We can make Jesus Lord of our individual lives. That puts us under theocratic rule individually. In truth we have to do that to be part of The Church, but then that is another thing we do not do so well. Oh, I do not mean for us to say Jesus is Lord, I mean for us to do Jesus is Lord.

I suppose we could list all the ways we do not allow Jesus to be Lord even when we say He is. That probably would not be very productive. I think some of me would end up with more conviction that we want. Oh my gosh, did I say some of "me"? I meant some of "us". Anyway, what all those reasons boil down to is fear. Name yours, if you dare. I am not talking about spiders and snakes and things that go bump in the night. I am talking about losses and failures and those times when we become our own worst enemies. I am talking about fears of rejection and others included in the fear of man. (Proverbs 29:25) I feel as though I have entered into rest in that last area. I think we have to be there to truly be free. The Psalmist asks twice (Psalms 51:11, 118:6) what can man do to me?

When we know in our spirit that Jesus has truly set us free, our fears evaporate like a puddle in the desert. Of course, usually it does not happen like that. At least it does not work that way for me. We do not just suddenly become free in our mind and emotions. It is more often what I call a creeping awareness that we are no longer afraid. We just realize we are not afraid anymore.

Even though it is God who works in us for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), the previous verse says we have to work out our own salvation. We work then He works. He is waiting for us. We are not waiting for Him. Well, I guess that is the problem after all. We are waiting for Him. We have to overcome inertia and do something then he can direct and redirect our paths until we are moving exactly according to His will. When we do that we will find we are moving in the same direction and we might even find out we like more people than we ever thought we would.

What am I going to say now except to encourage you to get up and move. Do something. God will make sure you get going in the right direction. You can trust Him. Trust me on that.