Strident in our separate
points of view
we prove our preference
for tug of war over
the purposes of God.
Paul was not the last
to notice or give warning.
The heart is a single muscle
pumping life while it is whole.
Split or cracked in the middle
the beating stops.
Do we kill the God in us
so lightly?
Succumb to the division
of our ego and make
the singularity of God’s purpose
a lie?
My way is best, we shout.
No! My way is best!
No! Christ is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life.
How quickly we forget.
Should the Savior
regret the crucifixion
his unspeakable suffering
to reconcile us to the Father?
He bartered his very breath
to make of us one body.
How goes that hymn, again?
We are one in the spirit.
Well, are we?
And if we are intent
on division, on war
who will be left
to feed the poor
to heal the sick
to spread the gospel
to build the kingdom
of Heaven?
1 Corinthians 1:10–18, Matthew 4:12–23