Today’s post is responding to a writing prompt: “Do you have a quote you live by or think of often?” The most influential quote to me is this one from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn:
“The line separating good and evil passes, not through states, not between political parties either, but right through all human hearts.”
Much of the conflict in history, and in modern times, comes from a human tendency to group people into separate groups, where one is “evil”, and the other is “good.” There are probably thousands of examples throughout history, but some that come to mind are religious categories like Catholic versus Protestant, political categories like Republican versus Democrat, or Marxist categories like “oppressed” versus “oppressor.” Humanity follows a pattern over and over again, where we lump people into categories, then attack our enemies accordingly. If someone belongs to the “other” group, they are evil, and if someone belongs to our own group, they are good.
In opposition to this, the Solzhenitsyn quote calls to attention Romans 3:23, which declares: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This verse, and the quote, tear down the idea that people can be easily separated into “good” and “evil.” That nations can be divided into good and evil. That political parties can be categorized as good and evil. Because every single person included in every single one of these categories is themselves a mix of good and evil, each of the groups themselves is a mix of good and evil.
Therefore, the quote calls us to treat people as individuals, dealing with them according to their specific situation and needs. Without accepting that each person is imperfect (at best), societies may pretend to treat people as individuals, but they’re really stereotyping people according to their groups and pitting them in battle against each other.
For the Christian church, the quote doesn’t demand that we withdraw from politics altogether, but it does demand that we act with more compassion toward those we disagree with. All too often, and especially on social media, we see category-based name calling and condemnation coming from Christians who categorize people and work hard to defeat those enemies that belong to other groups.
However, Jesus said in Matthew 5:43:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Imagine if we followed Jesus’ words. Imagine if everyone could be humble based on the evil that lives within them, and therefore treat the people who we view as evil as equals before God, and just as in need of grace as we are. The church, and the world, would be much better off if Christians were as good at loving their enemies as they are at identifying them.
Therefore, a quote that drives a lot of what I think, write, and do is this one:
“The line separating good and evil passes, not through states, not between political parties either, but right through all human hearts.”
