For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery… . For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. —Galatians 5:1, 13-15

Contempt is that dismissive attitude we hold against those who don’t share our views. —Arthur Brooks

Contempt is

.

Contempt is a particular danger for the

States and the

Reveal Answer

Methodist Church right now.

A January 2017 Reuters poll found that one in six Americans had stopped talking to a family member or close friend because of the

.

Anyone who can’t tell the difference between an ordinary Bernie Sanders supporter and a Stalinist revolutionary, or between Donald Trump’s average voter and a Nazi, is either willfully ignorant or needs to get out of the house more. —Arthur Brooks

Unity is

.

Division is

.

God gathers,

, and brings understanding. (Acts 2:1, 5-8)

Satan’s goal is to

our unity.

Unity releases power. The devil will always try to divide so he can conquer. —Levi Lusko

It is good when we live together in

. (Psalm 133:1)

Jesus’

for his followers is that we are one, that we have joy, and that we are victorious over the evil one. (John 17: 11, 13, 15)

If we are

each other, we are NOT

Reveal Answer

against “evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”

Though we can’t think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart,
though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. —John Wesley, 1771

The lure of division is

and

Reveal Answer

.

I will give you a donation or a vote to protect me from those evil people…those ‘Racist Republicans’ or ‘Socialist Democrats.’ Have you talked to every single Republican and every single Democrat? —Andy Stanley

When someone wants you to take a stand, what they’re really saying is they want you to take their stand. And if we’re not willing to take their stand, they don’t want us to take a stand. —Andy Stanley

The enemy is not

.

The enemy is

.

You can’t

unity, responsibility, or morality any more than you can make someone love you.

Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other… . this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world. Because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. —President John Adams to the Massachusetts Militia, 1798

The problem with the law is that it reflects the

requirement.

Traffic laws don’t make you a courteous driver. —Andy Stanley

The Answer: Following

Reveal Answer

fulfills the law.

Moses brought the old law, and Jesus is the

. (Matthew 5:43-48)

This is

!

You’re free, but not

for your sake.

Use your freedom to

one another in love. (Galatians 5:13)

The

law is fulfilled in keeping one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

We are to love and forgive

as Jesus loved and forgave us.

If we

love one another, what is our alternative? (Galatians 5:15)

What kind of humans bite other humans?

Paul’s

to the church. (Galatians 5:19-21)

“Flesh” is living at

with God.

In the list of 15 vices or warnings,

of them are about division! (Galatians 5:26)

Don’t grow

, and don’t give up. (Galatians 6:9-10)

A country is only as

as its people. We the people can do better.

Action Steps

“Disagree

, not less.” – Arthur Brooks

Do what’s

, not what’s popular.

Seek

and solitude to disconnect from the noise and reconnect to the voice who loves you.

Choose

—take a step. Someone has to go first.