"In All Things, Charity..."

In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity – this quote is attributed to St. Augustine (born 4th Century).  He speaks of the church needing to apply this principle in the face of its many disagreements on points of doctrine, practices, and lifestyle choices, etc.

You more than likely have heard this quote repeated, especially in a church or community association, seeking unity in the face of severe disagreement and diversity.  Perhaps you’ve even quoted it yourself.

The premise is quite simple really.  There are essentials and there are non-essentials.  The foundation, the core, the one unifying factor that gives the group its core identity, that is, the essential element, is non-negotiable.  For, to change it is to change the very essence of what it is.  Everything else is negotiable.

But the second part is just as important: “in all things, charity.”  That is, even if someone disagrees with your core essential(s), you should still maintain charity towards that person(s).  It’s the way of Christ.  That is, one should maintain a caring, compassionate, considerate, and respectful attitude toward the one with whom you vehemently disagree.  (Note: The word “charity” is too old-fashioned and now simply means the giving of a helping-hand to someone in need, and substituting the word “love” for charity doesn’t work well either because that word, love, is too flippant and easily dismissed these days.)

And so, it amazes me to see so much anger, hatred, and demonizing going on even from Christian voices regarding their opponents in the political, social, or economic arena.  They not only disagree with their opponent, they literally seem to hate the guy (whoever “the guy” may be), and react as if their social political opponent is the devil himself in disguise.  Yet, if any group of people should demonstrate respect and courtesy towards those with whom they disagree it should be followers of Christ, regardless of political persuasion.  For, truth be told, as Christians, the Way of Christ and God’s Kingdom principles should be given first and foremost priority above all else.

Ideally, it would be nice to see such an attitude of authentic respect and consideration for one’s opponent modeled at the highest levels of government—in Congress, in the Senate, and in the Executive Office.  Short of that, anyone who claims to be a Christian should be leading out in practicing this principle, “in all things, charity.”  That is, stop vilifying and demeaning and defaming the person or character of those with whom we disagree just because we don’t like their position or cause.  Do have passion for your own position or cause, but don’t turn that passion into hatred of those who oppose you.

There is good reason why Jesus said that his followers must be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  But if we don’t rise above worldly attitudes and worldly ways, the salt has truly lost its saltiness and the light has grown dim if not fully flickered off.