Nov. 22, 2016
Editor:
Like you, I have heard and read many articles calling for unity and healing after a very rancor-filled election season. I certainly agree that hatred and violence do nothing but destroy, separate and divide us. As Christians, we must show respect and love to all, including our enemies.
But I think we are making a serious mistake if we think that unity with those who oppose the teachings of Christ is the answer to our division, nor is it a way toward healing. How does a Christian unify with the national abortion policy? And how do we unify with a government mandate ordering the Church to provide contraceptives to our employees? And how do we agree with state laws that allow euthanasia and recreational drug use? Where do we find unity with a government that believes human rights come from the legislature and not from God? It is a false hope if we believe that we can unify with these humanistic values. Sure, disunity with human values creates discomfort, but that is OK.
“Can’t we all just get along” attitude will not Band-Aid our differences. We are here to convert the world, not find accommodation with the world. Certainly the early Church understood that there could be no unity with the Roman Empire and the cult of emperor worship. Scripture passages like Luke 12:49 clearly understood that there was no peace to be found between it and values of man’s world. This conflict between the value of man and the values of God have existed from the time of Christ, it is nothing new. Actually, the conflicts show that Christians are doing what they are called to do, to witness to Christ … to be in conflict with the secular world.
So what is the duty of the Christian after the election? The same as before the election: to challenge the world and its secular values with the values of Christ. We cannot serve both God and mammon. There is no common ground between them.
Msgr. Edward D. Lofton, Pastor
St. Theresa the Little Flower Church, Summerville
Image: Wikimedia Commons
