My favorite psychology professor, when I was an undergrad, had a saying: “We are all more alike than we are different.” While most of us would never know the horror of paranoid psychosis, he said, we all know the fear of walking into a room and thinking, “Why is everyone looking at me? Is something wrong?” It’s in this realization of the common human experiences that we could begin to see even the most ill person in a compassionate manner.
It seems as if Rick Warren, founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, has come to a similar revelation. After taking part in the Vatican’s Humanum conference, Warren came to this conclusion:
I think the beauty is that we have far more in common than we have what separates us. When you think about it, what is a Christian? They believe in the Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They believe in the Resurrection. They believe in the Bible. They believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins. If you believe those things, we’re on the same team. We may have different disagreements on other issues, but if you love Jesus Christ, you’re my brother, my sister.
For 2,000 years, we Christians have had our fair share of family disagreements. It is refreshing to take a moment, as Warren has, and reflect on those things which connect us. Not only does this help strengthen the Body of Christ, we are reminded that we find strength and support in each other.
Right now in the world, the minority view is getting the majority of press, and you just don’t hear the fact that the vast majority of people believe that marriage is what it’s always been since the Creation: one man and one woman for life.
