O ur world is divided. This is neither new nor startling news. Truth-be-told, our world has always been divided.

Ever since people were created and evolved, we have lived in groups and been more concerned about what happens to our group than any other. Conflicts arose between groups when both desired the same bit of ground or some other thing that both perceived as valuable enough to squabble over. People within each of the conflicted groups has to take sides on the issue – would they enter into conflict or try to find some way to negotiate a compromise.

Taking sides is never easy, but it is a part of living as human beings. We are forever taking sides: politically, religiously, morally and ethically, legally, in families and between families, in neighborhoods or HOAs, in sporting events, the list is seemingly endless. None of us seems to be able to just be “Switzerland” – that is, to be neutral in a conflicted situation. We are always prodded to “take a side” or to “make a stand” for or against some issue.

This way of being in the world even leaks over to how we see God in a situation. President Abraham Lincoln, in his second Inaugural Address noted that both Northern and Southern supporters and troops, “…read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other….” We always seem to expect that when we pray to God to support our particular position on an issue, that God will say, “Sure Dan, I’ll throw my support behind your position because you are always right!” Yeah… doesn’t happen – even though I’m certain the world would be a better place and operate so much better and more efficiently if all people everywhere would just learn to see things my way. (LOL) President Lincoln did say something really important about God and taking sides. He said, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Yes, that’s more like it. That is what the whole of the Bible, Tanakh and Qur’an are all about. Each sacred tome provides us with information and guidance to understand how God sees the world and what God’s preferred future is for it and us. God tells us through inspired writings and through prophetic utterings how it is we should conduct ourselves and what we should consider important. Jesus summed it all up when he noted that the two greatest commandments of God are to love God with all that we have and all that we are, and to love our neighbors every bit as much as God loves us. Jesus taught that everything in the Bible is built on the foundation laid by those two commands… full stop.

The blessed assurance that we have as beloved children of God is that we have a God who is on our side, who wants the best for us – to see us flourish and live our lives abundantly. God wants us to live with meaning and purpose and to work with God on behalf of the common good. The problem is, we like taking sides too much to actually live this way. More’s the pity! However, there are flashes of how things could be if we took the time to discern what God’s side is on an issue and then work with God to resolve it.

We really don’t have to live conflicted lives – more often than not, we choose to live that way. If you are tired of living in conflict and always being pressured into taking sides, then I invite you to come to a faith community this week and learn about how to take God’s side on how to live your life. Faith communities are known for taking sides on issues that don’t always reflect God’s views, but when they are operating at their best, there is no better place to discover God’s love for you and all of creation. There you will hopefully be guided to take God’s side and to live your life working for the common good. May God continue to bless your journey and give you abundant life!

The Rev. Albrant is pastor of Mineral and Mount Pleasant United Methodist churches.