Fellowship Voices

The Sources of Our Unity
Jarrett Banks

During the last eight years I have heard many people say that our country
is as divided as ever. Many have asked:“Whatever happened to the sense of
unity which was present during the days following 9-11?” “Whatever
happened to those days when every citizen rallied behind our flag?”

I would like to suggest that those days of unity are long gone because of
the major source of that unity. Some of it stemmed from compassion and concern for the victims of 9-11; however, much of it stemmed from feelings of outrage and revenge. Perhaps our most unified moment was when President Bush spoke into that megaphone saying, “The ones who knocked down
these buildings are going to soon hear us!”

I believe the source of our unity must come from some higher place. I
believe we can still rally behind our flag; however, in doing so, we must remember what our flag stands for—namely, freedom. For I believe President Bush was right when he said that “freedom is the Almighty’s gift to the world.”

If America is going to be “one nation under God, indivisible,” then we must learn to respect the individuality and the freedom of others. We must respect
the convictions and values of both Republicans and Democrats, Protestants
and Catholics, Caucasians and people of color. And it also means that we must respect the convictions and values of people of all faiths and even the atheists who believe that the words, “under God,” need to be struck from the Pledge of Allegiance.

As Christians, we must see our world with the eyes of the Apostle Paul
who said, “In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus.” Then and only then, America will truly
be “one nation under God, indivisible.”

Dr. Jarrett Banks is Pastor of Broadmoor Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. More about Dr. Banks and Broadmoor is at: http://www.broadmoorbaptist.com