真實合一—美國遺產概要24　

我們是美利堅共和國，無論是看我們的歷史或現在，可能會認為我們分裂多過合一。事實上，我們合一多過分裂，而且向來如此。美國由50個州組成一個國家，這是歷史上的破例。能從建國以來這麼長的時間結合在一起，這是歷史奇蹟。這樣的奇蹟會持續下去嗎？每一個世代都要為此做出決定，現在輪到我們來決定了。

由於在任何群體中的極端往往是最大聲的，所以我們國家似乎總是在為每件事爭吵。事實上，通常只有邊緣很小部分在製造大部分噪音，感覺卻很強大，通常會超越現實直到它們成為現實。

這並不是說除了大聲的極端者以外，國家其餘的人在每件事上都合一。我們可能在任何事上都無法完全合一，這是可以預期的。讓多數人大部分時間在多數事上合一，也是我們期待在這世代所做之事。這並不否認我們有嚴重的分裂，其中一些分裂似乎現在已經定義了我們的屬性。然而，一個更大的事實是，過去我們已經解決的許多嚴重問題，今日我們正在取得進展。

有一個幾乎是全宇宙的歷史真理，就是任何發生太快或太容易的事物往往無足輕重。越重要的問題，可能越難也越久才能解決。若因沒有耐心而驅動我們進行太快，結果很可能只介於表面或錯誤之間。

正如先前所談到的，憲法賦予我們很棒的方法來解決各州和聯邦政府，以及各州之間的衝突。目前我們似乎無法解決的分裂多半是忽視憲法所提出的解決方案。憲法把社會問題留給各州和人民來處理，因為這些問題與他們有切身關係，並需要與之共處。若整個國家以這種方式來解決可能需要花上更多時間，但結果會更好，維持下去的機會也更大，並且不會挑起我們目前正在經歷的分裂。

儘管我們被要求捍衛美國的名聲，但如果我們不嘗試過於團結，反而有助於我們更加團結。我們被要求團結在憲法概述的基礎上，起初這聽起來似乎違反直覺，但是我們需要在許多其他問題上進行區分，甚至是非常重要的問題。在這些問題上有所區分並不意味與其衝突，但我們成為一個擁有自由來面對這些問題的國家，可以公開辯論，先從各州和地方層級嘗試解決問題，直到找出解決方案，全國其他地方再採用。

目前的衝突會持續這麼久，見證人們拒絕接受強加於他們卻違反憲法的聯邦政府命令。此意味著在許多人身上仍有強烈的自由心跳，這是我們仍有盼望的原因。

根據聖經，當全地只有二位兄弟都無法和睦相處。這並沒有改變，多數人有困難與他人和睦相處。頭兩個兄弟的紛爭一發不可收拾，而糾紛總是有演變成衝突的危險。然而，人存在差異本是自然狀態。如果你想看到一群完美和平與合一的人，只能去到墓園，死人是完全合一的。健康的不和不應讓我們感到沮喪，乃是鼓勵我們，這表示人們仍然生氣勃勃才會在乎。

一位歷史學家提到美利堅合眾國的頭十年只是大吵大鬧一場，我們的兩位偉大開國父老湯馬斯·傑弗遜和約翰·亞當斯分別是爭論兩方的領袖，很悲慘的是他們有很多年成為充滿苦毒的敵人。後來另一位開國父老班哲明·若許（Benjamin Rush）做了一個夢，他與傑弗遜和亞當斯分享這個夢，帶領他們和好。這兩位偉大的自由鬥士於1826年7月4日同一天進入永恆，剛好是他們一起簽立獨立宣言滿50年之久，這樣巧妙的時間安排已經不是巧合了。

大議題需要大辯論；我們若夠成熟就不會大喊大叫，更不至於暴力相向。即便如此，最明智和成熟的人並不總是表現得明智與成熟。因此只要有合一的盼望，我們需要有很多耐心和饒恕，這些難道不是我們信仰的基礎嗎？         

如果我們以大喊大叫或暴力來征服另一方，這些行動便無法改變人心，不和的種子將持續生長，直到另一方夠強壯足以再次對抗。這即是何以耶穌說撒旦無法趕除撒旦，邪惡的策略永遠不會消滅邪惡，只會使其倍增。 

馬太福音五章9節耶穌說：「使人和睦的人有福了！因為他們必稱為神的兒子。」在不和增加之時，正如今日在我們土地上所看見的，使人和睦的人可能是最寶貴的公民。然而，那些只想減少或除去不和的人，如果沒有碰觸到真正問題，往往會造成更深層、更嚴重的問題。我們若單單平息爭論，我們是否真的帶來和平，卻沒有解決造成不和的真正問題？ 

耶利米先知有提到此，他說：「他們輕輕忽忽地醫治我百姓的損傷，說：平安了！平安了！其實沒有平安」（耶利米書6:14）。真實長存的和平確實需要提出帶來分裂之事，並找到解決方法。我們不想忘記或妥協，但到達那裡的途徑需要我們表現得像萬王之王的兒女，甚至超過我們在這世上所能呈現的。 

我們對神信心的根基在於信靠祂的話語全然真實，人們對我們話語真實的信心將成為信任的根基，其所建造的橋樑堅固到足以支撐我們時代重大問題的重量。 

～摘錄美國第三任總統─湯馬斯·傑弗遜（Thomas Jefferson）～

意見上的不同不代表原則上的不同。我們的名字都不同，卻是有相同原則的弟兄…。誠實政府的職責是在平穩中前進，不去知道這些家中的異議份子，單單珍惜兩個政黨的良好原則。

～摘錄美國獨立宣言～

我們認為以下的真理是不證自明的：人人生而平等，上帝賦予每個人一些不可剝奪的權利，包括生命、自由和追求幸福的權利...。政府的成立乃是為了保障這些權利，政權則由人民授權而來。

(摘自喬納word for the week, Week 24, 2020)
 

Unity in Reality—Heritage Brief 24

  We are the United States of America. Whether looking at our history or the present, one might think we are more divided than united. Actually, we are united in much more than we are divided about, and always have been. To have fifty independent states join together as a nation is a historic anomaly. To hold together for as long as we have is a historic miracle. Will this miracle continue? Every generation has had to decide this, and now it is our turn.

         Because the extremes in any group tend to be the loudest, it may seem that our nation is fighting all of the time about everything. Actually, it is usually only a few on the fringes making most of the noise, but perceptions can be powerful and often override realities until they become the reality. 

         This does not imply that with the exception of the loud extremes the rest of the nation is in unity on everything. We are probably not in perfect unity on anything, which is to be expected. For most of the people to be united on most things most of the time is about as well as we can expect to do in this age. This is not to deny that we have had serious divisions, and some of these may seem to be what now defines us. A greater reality is how many serious issues we have worked out in the past, we are making progress on today. 

         One almost universal historical truth is that anything that happens too fast or too easily is usually insignificant. The more important the issue, the more likely it is to be harder and take longer to work out. If impatience drives us to go faster than we should, the results are likely to be somewhere between superficial and just wrong.    

         As covered previously, The Constitution gives us a brilliant way to resolve conflicts between the states and the Federal Government, and the states with one another. The divisions that we seem incapable of resolving are mostly the result of ignoring The Constitution’s provisions for working them out. The Constitution left social issues to the states and to the people to resolve because they were closest to them and would have to live with them. It may take longer to work them out for the whole country this way, but the results will be better, have a better chance of lasting, and not foment the kind of divisions we’re now suffering from.

         Though we are called to uphold our name of being the United States, it would help us to be more united if we would not try to unite around too much. We are called to be united on the basics outlined in The Constitution. This may sound counter-intuitive at first, but we need to be divided on many other issues, even very important ones. To be divided on these does not mean that we are called to have conflict because of them, but we are to be a nation where there is the freedom to face these issues, debate them openly, and try solutions on the state and local levels until solutions are found that the rest of the country will want to adopt. 

         That the present conflicts have persisted for so long is a testimony to how the people have refused to accept the unconstitutional Federal mandates that were imposed on them. This indicates that the heartbeat of liberty is still strong in many. This is a reason for hope.

         According to The Bible, when there were just two brothers on the whole earth they could not get along. This has not changed, and most people have trouble getting along with others. With the first two brothers the trouble went too far, and there is always the danger that disputes grow into conflict. However, it is presently the natural state of people to have differences. If you want to see a people in perfect peace and unity, go to a cemetery. The dead are in perfect unity. Healthy discord should not discourage us, but encourage us that people are still alive enough to care.

         One historian referred to the first ten years of the American Republic as being just one big shouting match. Two of our greatest Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, were the leaders of each side of this great dispute. Tragically they became bitter enemies for years. Then Benjamin Rush, another Founding Father, had a dream that he shared with Jefferson and Adams that led to their reconciliation. These two great champions of liberty entered eternity together on the same day on July 4, 1826, exactly fifty years from the day they had signed The Declaration of Independence together. That is too remarkable to have just been a coincidence.

         Great issues require great debates. If we are mature they will not degenerate into shouting, much less violence. Even so, the most wise and mature do not always act wise and mature. So for there to be any hope of unity, we need to have a lot of patience and forgiveness. Aren’t those the very basics of our faith? 

         If we subdue the other side with shouting or violence, these actions do not change hearts, and the seeds of discord will continue to grow until the other side feels strong enough to fight again. That is why Jesus said that Satan cannot cast out Satan, and evil tactics never result in the vanquishing of evil, but only multiply it. 

         In Matthew 5:9 Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” In times of rising discord as we see in our land today, peacemakers may be some of our most valuable citizens. However, those who are seeking to only reduce or eliminate the discord often cause deeper and more serious problems that erupt later if the real issues are not addressed. Do we really bring peace if we just calm down the debate, but fail to resolve the actual issue that is causing the discord? 

         The prophet Jeremiah addressed this, saying "They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, 'Peace, peace,' but there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14). Real and lasting peace does require addressing and finding solutions for the things that divide us. We don’t want to forget or compromise this, but the path to get there requires us to behave as the sons and daughters of the King of kings that we even more represent in this world.

         The foundation of our faith in God is that we trust His word to be true. The faith people have that our words are true will be the foundation of trust that builds bridges strong enough to hold the weight of the important issues of our time.

         Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle… The duty of an upright administration is to pursue its course steadily, to know nothing of these family dissentions, and to cherish the good principles of both parties. –Thomas Jefferson

         We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights. Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. –The Declaration of Independence