Scripture: Micah 4:5
All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
“It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, pharm or no God.” —Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia
“It is easy to be tolerant when you do not care.” —Clement F. Rogers, Verify Your References
Thought for the Day: I suppose there’s a fine line between passion and radicalism. It’s good to care about your faith, and to want to share the good news of God’s universal love with others. Yet, from the day humans created religion, there have been those who disagree with our point of view. For most of the history of human existence, 0ur response to those who think differently has been ironically violent.
Disrespect of another religion is disrespect of God. To presume “we” somehow have it “right” and “they” have it “wrong” is the ultimate human hubris. At one time or another every Jew, Christian and Muslim on the planet has felt the wrath of one oppressor or another. Acting out against each other is exactly what God tells us not to do. Love your neighbor as yourself. It’s the foundational commandment of all our monotheistic religions. Love your neighbor as your self.
How can any of us say we believe in the One God, yet somehow believe only our God is the real God? It doesn’t even make any logical sense. If we’re talking about a universal God, the one and only, creative substance of all reality and beyond, then there is either God of all of us, or there is no God for any of us.
We can’t have it both ways. The universal creative force isn’t universal if some of us insist a certain belief system is inferior. The fact we interpret our relationship to God through different lenses and prophets just speaks to the beautiful diversity of our Universal Creator; a diversity we offend when we take up arms—written, filmed, drawn, or literal, against others.
Prayer: Peaceful God, I beg of you— remind all of us that we are your children. Soften my heart before I produce works of vicious disrespect. Soften my heart before I respond to insults with hate. Remind us all, loving Lord, that we are One in Spirit, birthed from the same universal womb, created for one reason only: to love you by loving each other, unconditionally. May my days be used to fill the world with love. Amen.