Editorial March 19, 2018 Issue

Responding to the divisiveness in society today

William E. Moody

In times of social divisions, widespread cynicism, and growing mistrust of institutions, is there something we can contribute to help bring more unity and peace? Is there something we can do to build up our own confidence and trust, to feel more hopeful about society’s future, as well as our own?

Consider that during the early days of Christianity, it was also a time of turbulent politics and insecurity about where society was heading. As the disciples of Christ Jesus were spreading the gospel of God’s kingdom, the young Christian community in the Middle East still labored under the rule of a foreign, invading government, whose political and cultural center was the great city of Rome. What in our times have been called “culture wars” would certainly have been troubling to many people living throughout the vast Roman Empire of two thousand years ago.

The Apostle Paul, who traveled widely in the region spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, took particular interest in the Christian community working to establish itself in the very heart of the Roman capital city. In his letters to Jesus’ followers, Paul clearly wasn’t attempting to convince them to somehow expend their efforts along the lines of conventional power politics. Rather, time and again, he encouraged these dedicated men and women to grasp how vital prayer and spiritual-mindedness would be in truly changing their world for the better. For example, in the Bible, Paul’s letter to these Roman Christians offers a stirring testament to the transformative spiritual power the gospel of Christ could actually have in a person’s life.

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Bible Lens—March 19–25, 2018