During this age of heightened political tension, families and friends are divided over who should be our next president. To some, the choice is easy, to others it may be difficult – regardless, many in our nation will choose to stay divided, often resulting in broken relationships. According to a Pew Research Center report from 2022, Republicans and Democrats are viewing “not just the opposing party but also the people in that party in a negative light. Growing shares in each party now describe those in the other party as more closed-minded, dishonest, immoral and unintelligent than other Americans.” This division boils down to one root problem: Anger. This division should sadden us as the body of believers, as we witness our culture, and sometimes even ourselves, succumb to such anger left unchecked.   

The temptation to remain angry and divided isn’t uncommon, especially amongst college students. Political and social tension have destroyed campuses physically and morally across our country, breaking down a sense of community. Over 50 schools have been affected and nearly 2,000 arrests have been made nationwide. Even Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Colombia, Dartmouth, and Cornell illustrate this phenomenon. Thankfully this is not necessarily the case at Gordon, but seedlings of anger are still present on campus in other ways such as in our interactions on social media, classes, and in our friendships. However, whether we are justified in our anger or not, we should be slow to harbor anger as Scripture expresses. In Proverbs 19:1, the author writes, “A person’s wisdom yields patience;  it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11 NIV). As Christians, we should be slow to anger, even when we are wronged or we disagree with what someone says. Further, Enduring Word commentary explains that a wise follower of Christ knows that they have been forgiven for much – this understanding can help us interact kindly and graciously with others.

When we do become angry, we should be quick to forgive, for God’s mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV). How much more united would campus be if we swallow our pride and extend grace to those who hurt us? How many friendships would be salvaged? If we all made this effort, our campus and world would likely be a better reflection of the Gospel. If we are representatives of Christ, we should mend our relationships with each other as God has mended the relationship between us (2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NIV). After his resurrection, we even see Jesus forgiving and loving Peter, even though Peter denied him three times (John 18 NIV; John 21:15-17 NIV). We must look to Christ’s example of how to treat others, especially those who have hurt us. To bring true unity, we must be quick to forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ, and life at Gordon is an opportunity to practice this. My hope and prayer for this upcoming school year is that we can enact these principles: Being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry (James 1:19 NIV).