There are such divergent groups of ideologies in our world today. Even in Christian churches, we have two groups divided into Eastern and Western, and six branches considered Christian churches in these two divisions. Then in Protestantism, one of these six branches, there are actually five major divisions.
Each faction has its own set of ideological beliefs. The reason for this great divide is that there are some irreconcilable beliefs, even among these various religious groups. Then, when we add other ideologies of thought into the mix, there are thousands of various venues of concepts that differ from each other – some in major ways.
In politics, we have numerous goals and philosophies that are growing more and more opposite with each passing year. The divide between the various branches of political thought causes a great deal of animosity between members of the same community, family members, and even church bodies.
Take lifestyles for instance – so many to choose from now. We can look at two very different philosophies between the “straight” culture and the “same sex” persuasion. Today, we call this the heterosexual group and the LGBTQ group.
At times, heated discussions build walls between two facets of thought, as well as tear down bridges that would otherwise lead to mutual love between the differing parties. We can adopt the goal of accepting one another’s freedom of choice, even if we vehemently disagree with each other’s preferences, world view, philosophy and ideology.
If we honor each other, even in the face of our diverse individual inclinations, we lose much of the hostility between us, even if we wholeheartedly oppose each other’s choices. We can accept each other as we are, and we do not need to argue or draw lines or build walls between us and the people involved in these differing beliefs.
We answer to no one but to God for our principles and choices, because none of us are perfect enough to sit in judgment over anyone else (Romans 2:1-3, 11). God left us His Holy Word to guide us through the maze of life’s questions and options.
Some people find the Bible irrelevant, and others of us stake our life on it. Some choose to reject His Word and laws, and instead, to build a belief system more compliant with their own goals and philosophies (John 3:18). However, God is still the only true judge.
He gives us discernment to go along with His Word - which is the ultimate plumbline for holiness; yet He did not die and leave us as judge and jury over one another. We are to judge between sin and righteousness, but God does not give us the right to judge one another, or to attempt to force someone to change to meet our own needs.
Prayer:
Father God, You give each of us a free will to voluntarily form our own convictions and to live by them. You also developed laws to protect us from the negative consequences of some of our possible choices (Matthew 7:13). If we abide by Your precepts and live according to Your perfect plan for our life (Ephesians 2:10), we allow Your Holy Spirit to convict us when we stray from the straight and narrow road that You created to keep us safe both now and for all eternity (Matthew 7:14).
Remind us that You are our Judge, and when we pass judgment on one another, or we attempt to make them run their business and life to fit our own agenda and lifestyle, we deprive them of the opportunity to live according to their own convictions; we may not agree with or like their choices, and we may feel ostracized by their principles (John 3:18), but remind us that we all have the right to function in life as we choose without rejecting one another as a person.
Thought for the Day:
Rather than to push our agenda on someone else, we can give them the respect as a human being to make their own choices; we give them the same right that we want to have in order to function in this world the way that we feel the most comfortable; we simply want the same respect afforded to us to run our life and our businesses as we choose, and not to be mandated to change to accommodate someone else’s philosophy of life.
