As I stood on the curb of Ward Street and the Coffee County Courthouse parking lot at Monday night’s We Stand United community prayer vigil, it finally hit me. People who know me (and many who don’t) understand that sometimes, I’m a little slow. It takes me a while to catch on to things.
For a long time, I’ve wondered why matters of faith, particularly the Christian faith, are such enemies of government. We live in a time in which a growing segment of the government that is unsympathetic to Christianity has gained a tremendous foothold and is doing its best to fundamentally alter American society.
In my feeble mind, the Christian faith should have an amicable relationship with governing authorities. After all, the New Testament teaches believers to be good citizens: pay taxes, obey the government (as long as the government’s demands do not bring one into conflict with God), treat each other kindly, build strong families. Upon those directives can a productive society be built.
Throughout history, however, Christians and governments have run afoul of each other. Governments have always felt threatened by believers and have viewed Christians as subversives bent on revolution. It was true during the days of Jesus Himself and it remains true to this day.
I’ve never completely understood why.
Until Monday night.
When I arrived, I picked up a program and immediately flipped through the order of service. As I expected, I saw a diverse group of speakers and musicians, and the crowd in attendance reflected that same diversity. With a theme like “We Stand United,” that came as no surprise.
As the service progressed, however, I began to see something I had never before seen. It hit me all at once during the prayer that Victor Mendoza offered for our local school system. Victor prayed in Spanish and Ida Mendoza, who stood at the podium with him, translated his words into English. As Victor prayed, the audience responded. Some held their hands in the air. Others answered Victor’s words with an “Amen” or a “Yes” of their own.
Victor stood before several hundred citizens of this community, many of whom had never seen him before, and opened his heart before God and man. Something special was happening, something powerful, as two different languages were being spoken at the same time in petition to God.
It was at that moment that I saw a community of believers truly united. I saw people of different races, nationalities, socioeconomic groups, denominations, and doctrines set aside whatever differences they may have with each other and join their hearts on one spirit before God.
I saw the power of a united Christian community, a power that transcends any barrier or any obstacle set in front of it.
We live today in a world full of barriers. A government that is supposed to serve the people and foster an environment of free thought and open discourse values those very things less and less. We have been divided, labeled, alienated, and separated in nearly every way imaginable. In the process, we have found ourselves at odds with each other. Rich and poor, black and white, educated and working class, Christian and Muslim, Muslim and Jew, immigrants and citizens, police and civilians – name a group and I guarantee that you can find another group against which it has been pitted.
That creates turmoil and division. And the more turmoil in a society, the less likely it is that a given society can solve its problems on its own. Invariably, when that happens, people will turn to government, a man-made institution, to solve its problems. Those thirsty for power know this and I firmly believe there has been a conscious effort on the part of a certain segment of our leadership to divide this nation so that they can remain in power. Throughout history, the desire for power has been a cancer that has negatively affected every nation. The United States is no different. We have our own ruling class. We have our own elite who believe they know what is better for us than we do. And they will stop at nothing until they see their agenda through. The best way to do that is divide this country in order for the government to step in and save us from ourselves.
However, a nation of people who are united under the cause of Christ, who look not to man but to God to create an orderly society, who look at each other as equals and not as enemies, who place others before self, cannot be divided. It will not bow to the whims of man. And it will never be conquered – from the outside or within.
And therein lies the threat. There have always been men and women who have attempted to place themselves above God. I believe that many in our government today are doing that very thing. But a Christian nation will not let that happen. Believers will never allow man to supersede God, and they will never place their trust the power of a human institution.
That is why it is so important for Christians to unite in these troubling times. What happened Monday night on the steps of the courthouse, where the Word of God could be heard ringing from the courthouse square throughout the city of Douglas, must be the beginning of a greater movement. It cannot be something that we simply do once per year then get on with our lives.
There is power in Christ-centered unity, the kind of unity that can transform a city, a county, a state, a nation. We must never forget that and we must continue to build upon the foundation these prayer meetings have laid. If we let the fire die, I believe society will follow.
