Unity?

         As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

          I know some people who would have us believe that all we need to do to have heaven on earth is to come together, to give up our extremism and “love” one another. Of course, what the term “love” means may not be what you think it means. I know it’s not what I think it means, but I get a little feisty when it comes to definitions. We need to cooperate. We need to stop being so divisive, so polarized, so extreme….

          Today we turn from looking at the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to looking at ourselves and another trinity: the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the flesh, and the world. Again, we’re brought back to the fact that there is not one group of people living on this planet, but two. The difference between them is polarized. It’s extreme. It’s political.

          I’m not saying that the political situation in our country is a direct and literal representation of the spiritual political situation. I’m not going to agree with anyone that the members of one American political party are the members of one spiritual political party, because I think there’s a mix. I’m just saying that the American political situation does mirror the spiritual political situation in that it’s polarized, extreme and political. And, since God is on one side in the spiritual political situation, I think it’s wise, and even vitally critical that we pay close attention to what those two sides are, and perhaps adjust our American political thinking accordingly.

          There are two parties in the spiritual dispute. One side is led by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The other side is led by the Devil, the flesh, and the world. I describe them that way instead of the world, the flesh, and the Devil because I think it’s a better parallel at the moment. Again, there are followers of both the Holy and Unholy Trinities in both American political parties, so I’m not talking about that. But when someone calls for unity, for everyone to “love” one another and live in peace, for people to put aside their differences and become one, for the realization of the song, Imagine, they are calling for us to ignore the real, spiritual battle. This doesn’t mean that the followers of the Unholy Trinity have any intention of ending their war and seeking peace with God. No, it is a ploy by which those who follow the Holy Trinity are convinced to lay down their weapons and lulled into a sense of complacency that leads to their downfall.

          Now, I’m not advocating hating people who are viewed as being on the other side. I’m not saying we should treat them as the enemy. What I am saying is that we have enemies. We’ll come back to this topic later, but the key at the moment is that we have enemies, and advocating for cooperation with, or unity with the Devil, the flesh, or the world is a dangerous mistake. It might not lead to our death, but it could cripple us. It is not something that God advocates…ever.

          I’m not interested in bridging into a discussion of the current American political scene. However, there are those who are using it as a weapon in the spiritual political battle. There are some who are saying that it is wrong to vote for an American candidate who is clearly a sinner. My first answer to that is that there is no American candidate who is not a sinner. My second answer is that my vote for a sinful human is not a vote for sin, but a vote for a candidate whose platform embraces sin is a problem. I could vote for a soldier who has killed someone, but does not advocate decriminalizing murder. I could not vote for someone who supports abortion.

          The key here is the issue of unity. Those who call for unity that involves compromise of Scriptural teaching are actively pursuing the goals of the Devil, the flesh, and the world. Clearly, today’s passage says that we are not to be united to those. We were freed. Allying ourselves again is foolish. And those who don’t make that distinction clear are doing no one any favors. We are called to separate from the world. Diversity, even polar diversity, is a good thing.