Us vs. Them

AM Psalm 37:1-18 • PM Psalm 37:19-42
Deut. 7:6-11 • Titus 1:1-16 • John 1:29-34

As I was looking through today’s reading, I began to notice a theme. All of the readings, except for John, are separating out the good from the bad, the godly from the ungodly. Beginning in verse 10, Titus speaks of the Cretans who are “full of meaningless talk and deception.” Deuteronomy reassures us that God has chosen us for a reason, because he loves us, while also mentioning, “Those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction.” Even both of the psalms, which are formatted to be almost a set of instructions, continue to emphasize that as long as you are doing the right thing, evil will be punished.

It is a rather simplistic, primitive way of looking at the world to imagine that some people are good, and some people are bad. As I’m sure we all have experienced, just because you do good and have honest intentions does not mean you will live an easy life. And on the other side of the coin, sometimes ill-intentioned and hateful people manage to lead seemingly easy and amazing lives. However easy it is to pit ourselves against each other, what we believe to be good versus bad, I do not believe God intended for there to be an “other” when it comes to His people.

God never said, “Humans were created in my image—except for the bad ones.” There is no “but” to God’s love. Of course, then it would by nature not be unconditional. All this to say, it was never intended to be us versus them. You cannot fight and condemn evil by fighting and condemning those that are lost in it. But rather, fight and condemn evil by showing love and compassion to those that are lost. For in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Written by Tel Johnson

Tel grew up attending St. Paul’s. She currently lives in Little Rock with her cat, Hershel, and works at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.