This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. (Titus 3:8-9)
One of the things that is becoming very popular right now is researching our family history. This research, called genealogy, is the study of our origins through the lives of our ancestors. With this in mind, many people promote the idea that we should celebrate our different heritages so that we can become culturally richer as a nation. However, this celebration has historically been in the context that out of many cultures, we become one. This is evident in the motto of the United States adopted in 1776, E pluribus unum, a Latin phrase meaning “out of many, one”, referring to the Union formed by several states populated by different peoples.
Further evidence of the idea of the oneness of many cultures in America was the institution of universities. Universities were instituted so that people of differing cultures could go to learn universal values that promoted unity as a people. Of the first 103 Universities in America, all but one started as schools to train ministers. Simply stated, the universal values that were taught were Christian as it was believed by the founders that these values were the only ones that would guarantee equality to people of all faiths and cultures. However, with these values, the founders also did not want a state sanctioned church to decide what these values should be, they wanted the Bible as the source.
Unfortunately, today we have abandoned the idea of becoming a melting pot of diverse people holding universal values. Instead, we have created this notion, that teaching people to elevate their diversity above universal values is the best way to celebrate our heritage. Sadly, this has led to the exact thing that we are warned about in today’s verses (Titus 3:8-9). Instead of teaching the universal values found in the Word of God, we argue that diverse and contradictory values are just as valid. Instead of teaching the love of God to inspire us in how we live our lives, we argue about laws, not God, as being needed to control behaviors. Instead of teaching the idea of a melting pot of people, we argue that clinging to diversity at the expense of others is more important to the self esteem of the individual. This fundamental transformation of thinking does nothing, but promote the poison fruit of foolish questions, contentions, and strife. This poison fruit does nothing to bring us together as one, but instead, drives us apart and weakens us (Proverbs 30:14; Galatians 5:13-17).
While it is interesting to learn about our ancestors, often many people seem to think that their ancestry is what defines who they are today. As believers, we serve a God that is timeless. We do not have to be defined by our past because the past is behind us. Instead, God has provided a limitless future through Jesus Christ. When we trust Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit empowers us to have the mind of Christ. When we have the mind of Christ, unity and oneness is produced as a sweet fruit that brings oneness and unity to all peoples in God’s family no matter what our heritage has been in the past.
