| Philippians 2:5 – “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,” |
There are times when we don’t feel good about other people.
We perceive slights and we feel left out.
Sometimes, real issues are involved.
And for many, their feelings, whether hurt or irate, become a hammer.
Wielding it, friendships shatter, churches split, and nations are embroiled in bitterness and accusation.
No one likes the feeling, but no one wants to do something to change the tension everyone feels.
It was Lincoln who understood that.
He backed his way into the presidency when the Republicans in Chicago could not decide on a candidate. He was the third choice, not exactly a mandate.
He was inheriting a country whose tensions had been in a slow boil before the ink had even dried on the Declaration of Independence. Now, with him approaching his presidency, the question of the day was “would the nation last?”
The threat of civil war hung in the air like stale cigarette smoke. When he made his way to Washington for his inauguration, he had to be spirited away in the darkness before assassins could execute their plan in Baltimore.
How do keep the stretched-thin fabric of simmering hate from splitting the dream of a United States of America.
As he arose to speak in front of the half-built Capitol Dome, people wondered if he would light the match that would make it all explode. Would he concede or dare? Neither was attractive.
So, he knew of nothing more than to appeal to people. As he drew to a close, he stopped. Then, he got personal. I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely, they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
Sometimes we need to be protected by the “better angels of our nature.” We need something more than humanity to do what is right.
Paul knew of nothing more to say when people were competitive and angry than this, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 2:5, ESV)
In a sense he was appealing to the better angels of our nature, to our faith in one greater than ourselves.
The next time you feel irritated, stop and beckon the better angels of your nature. And let them rule you.
–Robert G. Taylor
robertgtaylor.com
