Getting Along

“Why can’t we all just get along?” Back in 1992 Rodney King asked a question similar to this in an effort to calm the Los Angeles riots as a result of his own violent arrest by the police. As we are currently experiencing, and have seen time and again, because of mankind’s sinfulness the thin veneer of civilization of our own modern American society can come quickly undone, resulting in injustice, violence and instability.

A few years back I read a book by Sebastian Junger called “Tribe” in which he described, through the illustration of societal breakdown due to war, the value of real community. Junger proposes that community, in its most basic sense, is simply genuine sharing and caring for others, especially in times of stress. He uses as an example the communal meal, food provided by all whether large or small, elaborate or simple, demonstrating both the human desire to care for others as well as the desire to be cared for.

We see this idea of caring for others taught throughout Scripture, but we find an extensive list for how we should treat one another within society from Leviticus 19:1-18, beginning with a recognition of who G-d is and therefore who he expects us to be, and ending with the simple command to love our neighbor as we would love our own selves. Messiah Yeshua is asked to define who a neighbor might be in Luke 10:25-37. His answer of course was shocking, using the illustration of a Samaritan helping a Jew in 1^st century Judea, an illustration akin to a disenfranchised person in our society assisting at great personal cost a wounded person of privilege in our current context.

Why can’t we get along? It’s not a political issue, nor a financial issue. It’s an “us” issue. It’s because of sin. Aren’t prejudice, disorder, pride and unlawfulness only really the expected outcomes of sinfulness unchecked in the hearts of regular people? How do we combat sin? We must humbly admit our sin, our prejudice, our rebelliousness, our pride and our greed to the G-d who made us, and intentionally choose to turn from our sin by confessing our need for personal change and forgiveness through the shed blood of the one who unlawfully suffered and died for our sin, Messiah Yeshua. If we say that we believe in this truth, let us also remember an additional command for action from the Scriptures as well:

Pure and undefiled religion before our G-d and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27)

May we all exemplify today and forevermore a deeper love for G-d and for all those around us, especially those individuals who need our personal help to move forward in life.

Forward for Messiah,

Kirk Gliebe

Rabbi & Director