“Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” John 17:11
I remember years ago my sister (whose husband worked for the government), said to me (a missionary), “We won’t talk about politics or religion.” I said, “Then we can’t talk about your work or mine.”
How sad. But I am hearing the same thing today from friends here where I live and have meals together. One of the women got up and left when I mentioned how happy I was with the election results. So, I can talk about only food and ailments? Sorry, that won’t do for me.
As we near the holidays, many of us will be together with relatives, and it is sad that different political views have divided even our closest family members. I’m wondering what we will do when we are all together. Will we lay the ground rules that we will not discuss anything to do with politics or religion? Or, can we love each other enough to be honest and say that we want to learn from each other? We can learn much from those with whom we disagree. We need to be open, and we just need to talk!
No doubt we will have a meal with relatives who have different worldviews from us at Thanksgiving and at Christmas. In order to keep the conversation positive, I might suggest that you play a game. Keep going around the table asking each person one thing that everyone can be thankful for. The one who lasts longest wins. And the one who says “Jesus” gets a prize.
I am praying that this year as my family gathers for the various holidays that we do not let the devil divide us. The devil will attempt to use politics and/or religion to divide us. But remember, “A house divided against itself will fall” Mark 3:25.
Our weapon against the devil is to ask God to give us extraordinary love for all our relatives.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
We are not divided by politics but by the knowledge or lack of knowlege of God's word and our obedience or disobedience to it. Our choosing life, for example, is not a political thing, it's a biblical thing, a God-view thing. If we'd obey what God says in His word, keeping sex within marriage, there would be very little abortion debate.
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