Compliance with a moral code does not exclude the acceptance of other views

People gather to attend the unveiling of Allentown’s newest public art at La Placita mini-park on Hamilton Street on Thursday, June 29, 2023. The mural by Allentown artist Hector Castro focuses on healthy aging, diversity and opportunity. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

In our country today, where there is so much disagreement on a variety of issues, it is easy to forget that our national motto is: From many one“out of many, one.” Originally the motto of a magazine that collected articles from various sources. These Latin words were accompanied by a drawing of a hand holding a bouquet of flowers, each flower different but held together. This occurred at a time when one’s colony of origin was more important than being American.

This ideal of unity in diversity has always been a challenge. America has always been home to people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and priorities. Differences are our reality, some more visible or compelling than others, and while some welcome diversity as the spice of life, others find it threatening.

How can we live in unity in the midst of this diversity without our desire for unity forcing us into some kind of uniformity? Is it Italian or Chinese food, British or Latin American television, ecumenical or interfaith community projects? We are blessed by the diversity we encounter.

This is a stark difference from previous years, when churches, communities and countries viewed difference as a threat and intimidated or even killed anyone they perceived as a threat – just because they were different.

Christians like to say that we are “one body in Christ,” but the Bible records early church debates about whether Jews or Gentiles belonged, or about the relationship between faith and works. Particularly interesting here is the letter written to the church in Philippi about five decades after Jesus’ death, in which we find evidence of a disagreement between two church members.

We don’t know what was going on between these two women, but there was clearly cause for concern, as the letter repeats an important admonition that they should be “of the same mind,” and then prays that they would then “have the same love and be perfectly agreed and of one mind.”

Ekaputra Tupamahu, assistant professor of New Testament and director of master’s programs at Portland Seminary and George Fox University, points out that being of the same mind does not mean erasing the differences that make us unique children of God. Rather, the letter goes on to say, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility of mind consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not look out for his own interests but for the interests of others.”

Morality is a matter of standards that lead us to say yes or no. In this case, yes to “like-mindedness,” which means adhering to the principles and understanding of our highest calling. And yes to showing the same love as the higher power we follow and have dedicated our lives to. But it also means no to “this or that” thinking or “looking out for myself and mine” in front of others. And a resounding no to the idea that being different is, by definition, dangerous.

We are blessed in this area by a prominent presence of the Moravian Brethren. May their motto shape us as a society and as a nation: “In essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things, love.”

We are not called to uniformity or sameness, but to unity that seeks the good of all, however different we may be. This means acting out of love, not self-interest. Making space for others, opening ourselves to otherness. This is what Christians understand, what Jesus did when he gave up his divinity to embrace our humanity and transform the lives of those who lived outside his social circle.

You may open the door with fear and trembling when someone else knocks. It may be hard, but it is not impossible. For 248 years, this country has chosen, in small steps, to welcome others, to expand, not to shrink. We have not always done everything right. We can always do better.

The Reverend Dr. Steven H. Shussett is a Presbyterian minister serving the Presbytery of the Highlands of New Jersey.