Unity in a Divisive Age
There is no doubt about it: the current news cycle is exhausting. It is one focused on vitriol and division, mixtures of rumor and reality. Unfortunately, truth and deceit are nearly indistinguishable from one another at times. Stories are told from so many different sides that nothing seems to make sense or fit together. Each morning I pause in anticipation of what might have transpired during the few hours of sleep from the night before.
Perhaps you fall on one particular side of traditional party lines. Perhaps you even feel torn between them. I am not advocating for one political view over another. You will not find a hidden partisan agenda here, rather an observation of our current political and cultural climate.
The Weeping Prophet
Recently I’ve been reading through Jeremiah, a prophet who had a deep affection for the people of Israel — his people. I was struck by one of my favorite verses in a new way because of the passage’s shocking similarities to our current culture. Jeremiah 9 largely focuses on the prophet’s lament over his people alongside God’s judgment declared over them.
Scripture says that Jeremiah wished his eyes were like a fountain of tears so he could weep for his people day and night without ceasing (Jer 9:1). Yet, Israel’s behavior has turned them so far from the Lord that Jeremiah sees it better to be separated from them in the desert than to be among them (Jer 9:2). These are arduous circumstances in which Jeremiah finds himself. The prophet describes the behavior of Israel:
They bend their tongue like a bow;
falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they do not know me, declares the LORD.
Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
for every brother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
they refuse to know me, declares the LORD.
The poetic language Jeremiah uses paints a vivid picture of the actions and heart of Israel. “They bend their tongue like a bow” (Jer 9:3). They used their tongues as weapons to shoot lies not upon enemies, but upon themselves — upon their own brothers and sisters. Falsehood ran rampant. I believe the second part of verse 3 can better be read as the Septuagint* records: “and not for truth they have grown strong…” This places great emphasis on the people’s choosing to cling to falsehood and deception. The Lord declares that the people of Israel, His chosen people, do not know Him. God has time and again shown His people who He is, yet they choose to follow after lies.
Jeremiah says one had to be aware of everyone around them. No one was speaking the truth. Everyone was deceptive and a slanderer. The people of Israel had taught their tongues to speak lies. This implies an effort to not tell the truth. This isn’t merely lying, rather intentionally not telling the truth. The people of Israel were going out of their way to slander and cast lies. Oppression upon oppression, deceit upon deceit. The Lord finally declares something worse than their lack of knowing Him: their refusal to know Him.
Connecting Jeremiah to Today
Don’t we see this in our culture? We don’t have to be sixth century BC Jews to see the similarities. Deception, slander, and hate are the names of the game. It’s how it’s played. We spin stories, adjust statements, make efforts to not tell the truth, and even knowingly speak falsely against others. We are at a defining moment of division in our nation’s history. Division informs our society. It advises our decision making. It affects our perceptions. Be it Supreme Court appointments, a rising awareness of sexual assault, racially charged injustices (or a number of other current events), division is unfortunately alive and well among us.
If you are like me you feel like sometimes we are on a treadmill moving in one direction going nowhere. Now, don't hear me encouraging everyone to look past one another’s differences, see eye-to-eye, and move forward. I don’t think that is helpful or wise. We won’t move anywhere. To have personal conviction is a good thing. To disagree is necessary.
But many times it seems like we seek to solve our disagreements in ways that are antithetical to lasting change. We seek morality through hatred. We’d rather have an enemy to oppose than a truth to hold on to. By immersing ourselves in division — by welcoming and greeting it with open arms — we are effectively turning around on the treadmill and moving in the wrong direction even faster.
I do believe there is a possibility for productive discourse today. Deception arose out of division and has distracted us from pressing matters. There is an opportunity to work together rather than against one another. Our democracy wasn’t founded upon one side being right and the other side being wrong. What is the point of something like that? Coming together in our diversity, understanding the issues at hand, relying on one another to rightly defend and question opposing views, and representing the voice of the people will not come easily. It will certainly not come quickly. It requires patience and steadfastness, the enemies of division. Only by committing to unity in diversity can we break ourselves of the chains of division. It’s a realization that unity may not come immediately, and that’s ok. This seems to be the bane of our millennial existence — the lack of instant gratification for the sake of lasting change.
A Greater Hope
You might be thinking, David, why did you say this passage was one of your favorites? It is all about division and judgment! Now I bring you to the end of Jeremiah 9 where God outlines a way out of division, deception, and dread. God describes the actions of someone seeking after Him:
Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”
We need not boast in the passions or ways of the world for they only lead to division. Rather, one should boast only that he understands and knows the Lord. The Hebrew word for know (yāḏa‘) means a deep, intimate knowledge of God. This conveys a protective, close, personal relationship. God declares that He is the one who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. These three (ḥeseḏ, mišpoṭ, and ṣeḏāqâh) are repeated throughout the prophets. God finds pleasure and delight in His people when they know Him and seek after His will.
Like Jeremiah, we are living in a divisive time. Lines have been drawn and sides have been taken. But there is still a light of hope that can be seen through the haze of division: to be steadfast and patient in our dealings with one another, reflecting God in all we do. We need to cling to the Father, seek to know Him more deeply, and be drawn closer to one another in Spirit and in Truth. I hope you will join me in praying for our nation, for those with whom we might fundamentally disagree, and for unity that disrupts division.
*The Septuagint (LXX) is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures from the original Hebrew, probably translated during the third and second centuries BC.