ORDER

Order.

For the past several decades, we have been pulling apart at the seams as we choose camps on various social and political issues. A host of ideologies vie for our attention and when we decide that we support one, we separate ourselves from those who are in other camps.

It is nothing new. The Jews in Jesus' day had Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots and Publicans. In the early days of our country, the various colonies and then states formed due to different religious or philosophical beliefs. We fought a Civil War over the issues of slavery and states rights.

Today, we argue about civil rights, women's rights, children's rights, birth control, abortion, the environment, homosexuality, and the definition of marriage. We divide along denominational lines, style of worship, the existence of heaven and hell, and whether or not we should paint the social hall. We choose to be Democrat, Republican, Independent, Tea Party, or disinterested. We choose to own guns, to control guns, or to ban guns. We choose to be liberal, conservative, evangelical. We have become a nation of letters: CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and CSPAN - each defining who we are or who we are not.

Do we send in troops? Do we build walls and fences to keep others out? Is our barbecue

vinegar, mustard, or tomato based?

We have pulled and pulled ourselves apart and we find ourselves out on the edges so that we can't possibly see the point of view of others and we get angry whenever anyone disagrees with us or tries to convince us that we should change our minds and hearts.

We live on the fringes and it is pretty tattered out there. We have moved so far to the extremes that we live with gridlock, isolation, sequestering, lack of communication, failure to act, and fear. The result is a world full of chaos.

Is there any hope for us? There is always hope. The very first act of God was to bring order out of chaos. Later, the children of Israel were living in chaos when God gave the Ten Commandments to bring order. God asks us to offer hospitality to the stranger, to set aside food for the hungry, to care for those who are most vulnerable, and to rest on the Sabbath inorder to reflect upon the goodness of the previous six days. All of this brings order.

The cure for our mess is that we are to love God and to love our neighbor. We might not change our minds about things that are important to us, but when we follow that simple request to love God and neighbor, then our ideologies cease to be our idolatries. With God, we will be able to weave a new tapestry out of our tattered threads.

Order. The Wright Word for today.