Enough is Enough!

Most of you who know me understand that I’m fairly laid back and easy going.  I usually am.  But today I want to speak to all of us say “Enough is enough!”  2020 started with divisive impeachment hearings, then came Covid-19, mask mandates and stay-at-home orders, civil right protests, the election cycle is upon us, and now we are adding in discussions of Supreme Court nominations.  Have a touched a nerve yet?  This list of topics are just some the new opportunities for divisiveness this year.  They are being layered on top of years and years of opinions and topics that have driven wedges between people.  I’m going to list a few more below and my hope is that you can relate to at least one thing in the list.  Here we go.

• Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents  
• Black, white, brown, red
• Rich, poor, middle class
• Athlete, artist, academic
• Man, woman, child
• Nazarene, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, non-denominational
• Cops, convicts
• Heterosexual, homosexual
• Those who speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Afrikaans, French, Arabic, Zulu, etc.
• Blue Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, All lives Matter
• Contemporary worship, traditional worship
• Meat eater, vegan, vegetarian
• Public school, home school, private school
• Etc., etc., etc.

Have I hit that nerve yet?  Pick any “group” that I’ve mentioned so far, and I believe I can name at least one Christian that I personally know that relates to that “group”. There’s a good chance that you can identify with some of “groups” I've listed above.  There’s also that same chance that your neighbor lands in a different “group” than you.  We have been so distracted by these “groups” and many more, that we sometimes forget we are all people created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)!  You, me, your neighbor, your so-called “enemy”, your friends; we are ALL created in the image of God.  Many of us have even accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior!  But sometimes we forget that.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  As men of the church, let’s lead by example and STOP finding ways to divide ourselves into earthly groups.  Let’s take the lead and start celebrating that we believe in Jesus Christ and get back to work living out His words!  The second greatest commandment He gave us in Mark 12:31 is to “Love your neighbor as yourself”.  Will you join me in starting today to see EVERYBODY just as God made them?  I fully believe if we as men do this, the world will be turn upside down for glory of God and all that divides us will slowly fade into the night!

See if you can find somebody in the next 48 hours that was made in the image of God and give them a high-five (or air high-five) because we are on the same team.  We can make sure that NO MAN IS LEFT BEHIND by acting in this manner!  Thanks for listening and know that you are loved.