“Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.” (Romans 14:16 NIV)
The Apostle Paul warned us against creating barriers that promote disunity. Jesus constantly spoke against the Pharisees, who used religion as a front to further their own agenda. Even now, we who claim to be followers of Christ, often take what is good, compassionate, and charitable and present it as evil. Take for instance the immigration issue. Who among us would argue that Jesus would want to deport refugees, turn away our neighbors who are in need, and build a big wall to keep them out?
"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel." (Pope Francis)
We can either promote the gospel, or we can promote ourselves, but not both. When we wield religion as a weapon of condescension and criticism, we demean our faith. When we attempt to take what is good and twist it to create fear, division, and dissension--our souls are poisoned.
Lord, help us to build bridges of faith instead of walls of dissension. May we be able to discern between good and evil and always pursue peace and unity with Christ.
I cannot say Amen enough to your post! What is even scarier is all the people who agree with this person who figures he can change the world by shutting out the world. It is an oxymoron at the highest level in my humble opinion.
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