Division

People view solar eclipse.

ATIFA disrupts peaceful free-speech rally.

Rescuers during hurricane Harvey in Texas.

                                                                                                       

Division is defined as  disagreement between two or more groups, typically producing tension or hostility. A synonym for division is separation.

The middle photo above depicts division that, all to often, degenerates into evil hateful acts of violence. The photo on the right is of the recent solar eclipse and shows various people united in one interest. All are detached from egos long enough to peacefully enjoy the awe-inspiring presence of something greater than themselves. The left-most photo shows unity in one goal; that life can be so valued, that its preservation must be achieved at any cost or sacrifice. Two are a consequence of love, one the consequence of hate. We are capable of either. Two photos are examples of God’s love. One showing tolerance and respect for the individual conscience, though often differing. The other exhibits sacrifice which is required of love. The middle exhibits the stark intolerant selfishness inherent in hate spawned by fear and uncertainty.

Love and hate know no color, ethnic background, nationality, gender, political preference or religious affiliation. It is the condition of the individual. One who loves is fulfilled and lacks little, for their life is one of serving others, and regards those others as a blessing. For one who hates, there is never enough to satisfy them, for their interests are in the self, and anyone who is contrary is a threat. Hunger is a challenge for all humans. It needs to be satiated. If we eat to little or too much we experience discomfort. When we eat with reason we are satisfied. Free will plays a role because we can choose well or poorly. Choosing well is a virtue because it avoids setting the table for discomfort. Choosing poorly is a vice in that we then find ourselves sitting at that table. No matter the subject, persistent discomfort leads in stages to frustration, anger and, if left unchecked, to hate. We must direct that hate outward for self-preservation. The target of one’s venting often is innocent and not the source of one’s hate. That source lies in one’s displeasure of self. Hate can develop simply from the ill-advised misuse of free will.

As you can surmise, there is a right and a wrong use of, or action toward anything.  Not multiple variations thereof. Natural law and the Law of First Principle sees to that. It is we who create a relative smorgasbord of reasoning to validate our actions for the purpose of distracting and soothing our troubled conscience.

Satan and Christ are both dividers. Christ, like Satan, does not bring harmony, but discord. Satan divides through lies and manipulating the weaknesses in human nature to promote heresies of absolute objective truth. Christ, however, divides by distinctly separating truth from lies. Yet, one’s free will is never in jeopardy. Christ does not force Himself on anyone. Satan does. Satan, first, defends your right to use your free will as you wish, especially in transgressions. Then he accuses you for doing so and tells you that you can no longer approach the God you have offended. God, in and through Christ, loves us no matter what the circumstances and truly wants us with Him in heaven. Yet, He so honors His gift to us of free will that He even allows us to send ourselves to hell. Satan, on the other hand, hates us so that he uses God’s love for us and the gift of free will perversely to keep us from choosing heaven through the promotion of false promises that too many have embraced. Satan will never win His war against God. He can only be victorious in battles. Those battles are for our souls.

Christ unifies in truth by clearly defining the perversion of that truth. The division caused between people because of that defined truth is the result of a conscious choice. Satan divides in lies-false truth. Always keeping the line between truth and lie blurred. He uses our ability to be subjective against us. Thereby compelling one to do what one wants rather than what one should for one’s own good. Christ reveals that we are truly free to be happy when we do what we ought to do. Satan insists that we are truly happy when we are free to do what we want. Yet, often, in fulfilling one’s desires, another must sacrifice following his conscience. If that other is unwilling to sacrifice, then often force will see to it that he does. And when that happens we have planted the seeds of tyranny which goes against the natural right to exercise free will. Conflict is then unavoidable and division inevitable.

Only God can make things. Satan’s only accomplishment is in the breaking of those things. He is the supreme anarchist. Satan is without substance and anything from him, as such, is therefore a false truth, a lie. The darkness that is his domain, like him, has no substance. For when the light of day enters, the darkness fades to nothing as the morning mist. The human heart can be manipulated by Satan through false promises that can never be completely satisfied, because he has only the things of this world at his disposal and therefore any satisfaction is temporary. From here the vicious cycle of discomfort to frustration to anger to hate goes on and on. And lost for those trapped in this deceitful cycle is free will. The heart given to hate has been given to Satan. And in that the Divider is successful, for he has caused separation from God. Sadly, for too many, a divided relationship that may not be healed.

Yet hope has its place. For as the light that enters a room dispenses the darkness. So, too, can the darkness of ones heart be vanquished by welcoming in the Light of the World. As this divine light is welcomed in, crowded out is the darkness of a despairing heart, and along with that darkness, the demons of demolition. With the completion of this divine invasion the heart is restored, through penance and amendment, to the intent of its maker. The divide has been bridged and the loving relation between Creator and creature renewed.

Make no mistake, the turmoil of this world is a constant tug of war between good and evil. Between the powers of light and darkness and their founders. The only way to rid ourselves of division is to be on the same page. Christ gave the world that page: love god with all your heart, mind and soul; love your neighbor as yourself. As human beings we can achieve what we can conceive. Man knows the wind and from that has conceived a means to harness it in making a sail. Let us, for argument sake, form an image of all humanity living by the two commands of Christ. So long as we are on the same page division and all its negative consequences would not exist. By obedience to love and truth and disobedience to hate and lies we would then know what near perfect happiness is.

But love and truth is a more difficult way to pattern one’s life than hate and lies. Most opt for the easy way. A way devised through relative thought and subjective truths where there is no likelihood of a definitive moral code to hinder ones actions. For love and truth demands the selfless; hate and lies fit so well with the selfish. So we, presently, are where we are. In a world of wheat growing amongst the weeds until the harvest. But, the individual can alone make a difference. For everyone who chooses obedience to love and truth abates the power to the contrary.

If there were just two people left in this world who possessed free will there still would be conflict and divide. It is likely that never would these two always be on the same page. For free will allows an ego. The more pages that exist for individuals to be on, increases complexity of conflict. Christ offers a clear and simple choice in objective absolute truth. There are but one of two pages to choose. One is either with Him or against Him. His will or yours. We remain divided so long as we choose to be.

The above photos are snap-shots in time. Moments in people’s lives when a choice is made. How wonderful would it be if the photos on left and right were the rule of living and not simply an option. If so, then the photo in the middle becomes irrelevant. When enough moments have been accumulated, then the pattern of one’s life becomes evident. The natural rule of justice ensures that the way of life that we nurture here will be that which we have forever. For those of us who believe, and for those who have yet come to believe, will find our eternities determined by our collective moments of truth.

The once vast expanse of obscurity-in which humanity has long since been immersed-separating right from wrong, good from evil, has now diminished to near negligible. Good and evil now stand face-to-face, and their dissimilarity is unmistakable.

“The issue is now clear. It is between light and darkness and everyone must choose his side.” – G.K. Chesterton