But, But, But...They're Different

As I sat and let the passage for today sink in I overheard a news story about some people accusing our President of treason. I have to admit I wasn't listening very hard, and don't know the full story, but still, I would like to know how our country has become as divided as we currently are.

Now, I may be wrong, but I have heard comments from people I know and respect that they honestly believe our President is bad for the country only because he is "different". They truly believe he is a Muslim, or was not born in this country, or lies and cheats and is stealing from our future. I ask them why they think this way, and the answer is always the same, just told with different words and never really said; because he's not like us.

I find it very difficult to understand how we can still judge people based on their skin color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, gender choice, or lifestyle. This is not something new, humanity has been dividing itself along "us" and "them" lines for millennia. Just take a look at today's reading. Acts 10:44-48 is the tail end of a story that has Peter telling the Gentiles about Jesus. He begins the conversation earlier in verse 34 with the words, "I truly understand that God shows no partiality."

By the end of that speech the Gentiles were touched by the Holy Spirit and Peter baptizes them into the church, a church that is to include Gentiles and Jews in a time when those two people had deep-seeded hate against each other. Peter found a way to unite these two sides and the way he did it was through the message of God's ultimate love given to us through Jesus Christ.

We're in need of another Peter. We need someone that can find a way to unite us as a people, under one love, undivided, regardless of our differences. Let me rephrase that last part; embracing our differences.

As I sit, apparently finished with this entry a public service announcement plays on the same station I heard the story of division. The message said we need to find a way to come together in spite of our differences to form a more united states. Who says TV isn't sacred.