Considering God’s Nature When Diversity Creates Conflict
Marilynne Robinson’s newest book, Reading Genesis, is a rich exploration of the book of Genesis. She considers the academic interpretations and the literary interpretations from previous scholars through a unique lens. Her approach to Genesis weaves themes that resonate through the whole of Scripture–within her achingly beautiful writing, Robinson powerfully considers the profound meanings and promise of God’s enduring covenant with humanity[1].
What God’s Nature Offers Us
In light of our conversations last week surrounding the Middle East and the Israeli conflict, I find myself still asking the question of how might Jesus instruct His followers who are created as “ . . . a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, God’s own purchased, special people, that [we] may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called [us] out of darkness and into His marvelous light?”[2]
Whether or not we agree who is the heir of the covenant (The country of Israel, spiritual Israel or the Church), Robinson points out in her writings that in God’s Oneness and Omnipotence, the God of the Universe offers a covenant that is “independent from its human bearers, even while it is profoundly associated with this fallible and vulnerable little clan. Its aloofness has to do with the nature of God, His faithfulness, first of all, which could not be absolute if it could be affected by the thoughts and actions of creatures so volatile as these mortals are. A covenant, a bond of faithfulness, is the form of relationship The Lord offers humankind.”[3]
I wonder how Robinson’s perspective sits with you? Our Creator’s Nature is independent, differing from ours? How does God’s Nature inform the way diversity creates conflict?
While I was reading about our Christian political witness in an age of totalitarian terror and dysfunctional democracies in N.T. Wright’s and Michael F. Bird’s book, Jesus and the Powers[4], it seemed like we were continuing a collective conversation from our posts last week. Here’s where I resonated with the first three chapters.
- Words describing our times: Precarious and Perilous.[5]
- The optimism of the early 1990s died in 2001.
- America lacks the consensus and belief in a greater good that once characterized its political class.
- Israel’s vocation was to be a Kingdom of priests and light the nations.
- The’ Suffering Servant’ was to embody both the vocation of Israel and the vocation of Israel’s God by taking on the exile, shame and death to renew the covenant and creation.
- The purpose of Israel and the Torah was to set forward the larger purposes of God. Mysteriously and ironically, Christ’s crucifixion on the cross was what accomplished our Creator’s greater purpose as now the ‘powers’ are reconciled.[6]
Wright and Bird articulate how Jesus’ victory is celebrated because human beings could now be free to be the ‘royal priesthood’ through whom “God’s wise, healing justice would be brought into the world.”[7] With the ‘powers’ now reconciled, the authors assert God’s intentions that humans should share in running the world, rising to the challenge of establishing and maintaining God’s intention for a well-functioning human society.[8]
How Might Jesus Instruct His Followers When So Much Diversity Creates Conflict?
Last January, Multnomah County, a progressive County in Oregon, invited me to do a 5 month long internship with them to complete my family law mediation hours for the state. Each day I was assigned to work with a different mediator who would be my co-mediator. The mediators with whom I worked are diverse in sexual orientation, political affiliation, cultural awareness and ethnic background. Looking at optics, we share very little common ground and yet I was clearly welcomed on the team. With every high conflict case we mediated, another mediator and I would debrief afterwards. We talked through what went well, where we made mistakes, and how we would write up the agreement. On Thursdays, the entire team of mediators meet for 90 minutes while one person presents a difficult case and the rest of us ask consultation questions, clarify information while dissent and debate ensue.
After each Thursday meeting would end and my co-mediations would begin, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop: the division of the team, criticism of leadership, talking about a colleague behind their backs, a power struggle. Not once was a person punished for having a different view. As my relationship with my supervisor grew, I asked her outright during one of our one to one meetings: “What’s the secret to this team’s unity?” Her response is something I wonder if Jesus might say to us today. “We come with the self-determination in that everything we do, we do for the children to have a stable life.”
What is Your Self-Determination as a Leader?
As I finished reading Jesus and the Powers, I saw how confident pluralism offered a political solution to the practical problem of our differences. Likewise, mediators can embrace differences because they are confident in their beliefs of family systems and they are independent of the conflict. In mediations, people are free to express diverse ideas, to dissent, to debate. Then, if all goes well, we come up with a plan on how to live with those differences.
As a royal priesthood, a chosen nation, might we choose to embrace pluralism because we are confident in our own beliefs that we aren’t meant to be in power and that the Kingdom has come? Is this a greater argument for church engagement as we know the Church is what sustains and helps build the Kingdom of God? Rather than turning away in our work, our communities, our families when diversity creates conflict, we can look for ways to come alongside people who think and live differently from us. In this way, what I learned from my time at Multnomah County was that building Jesus’ Kingdom required me to confront powerful “empires” in all forms. The more self-differentiated I became, the more whole and healthy I showed up at work, the more freedom my clients experienced. I don’t understand it but in that very small example, I catch a glimpse of how different God’s Nature is from ours and even in that vast difference, He loves us with an Everlasting Love.
[1] “Reading Genesis: Robinson, Marilynne: 9780374299408: Amazon.Com: Books.” Accessed September 4, 2024.
[2] I Peter 2:9, AMP.
[3] “Reading Genesis: Robinson, Marilynne: 9781250371850: Amazon.Com: Books.” P. 144-45.
[4] Wright, N. T. Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Reflective, 2024.
[5] P. 4
[6] P.59.
[7] IBID.
[8] P. 60.
About the Author
Pam Lau
Pamela Havey Lau brings more than 25 years of experience in speaking, teaching, writing and mediating. She has led a variety of groups, both small and large, in seminars, trainings, conferences and teachings. Pam’s passion is to see each person communicate with their most authentic voice with a transparent faith in Jesus Christ. With more than 10, 000 hours of writing, researching, and teaching the heart and soul of Pam’s calling comes from decades of walking alongside those who have experienced healing through pain and peace through conflict. As a professor and author, Pam deeply understands the role of mentoring and building bridges from one generation to another. She has developed a wisdom in how to connect leaders with their teams. Her skill in facilitating conversations extends across differences in families, businesses, schools, universities, and nonprofits. Pam specializes in simplifying complex issues and as a business owner, has helped numerous CEOs and leaders communicate effectively. She is the author of Soul Strength (Random House) and A Friend in Me (David C. Cook) and is a frequent contributor to online and print publications. You can hear Pam’s podcast on Real Life with Pamela Lau on itunes. Currently, Pam is a mediator for families, churches, and nonprofits. You can contact Pam through her website: PamelaLau.com. Brad and Pam live in Newberg, Oregon; they have three adult daughters and one son-in-law. One small, vocal dog, Cali lives in the family home where she tries to be the boss! As a family they enjoy worshiping God, tennis, good food and spending time with family and friends.13 responses to “Considering God’s Nature When Diversity Creates Conflict”
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Pam, what you’ve written is truly a “third way” to approach the public sphere. Being able to pursue this sort of pluralistic vision without setting aside one’s faith (actually, here one is able to integrate faith in many ways) seems to be not only the way to pursue the sort of liberalism and universal values Mounk wrote about, but also is a good thing to pray for in settings (i.e. countries) where there is great hostility toward Christian faith. This is not unlike what missionaries / missiologists might pray for or promote in dangerous places around the world. Great insight, Pam. I think you’ve given more handles (and a practical example!) for those who read Wright and Bird looking for more ways to flesh out their aim for the book.
Travis,
I’m reading a book new to me called The Joy of Humility written by a group of scholars from Baylor, Yale, etc. The chapters cover a variety of nuanced topics surrounding the virtue of humility. But what really strikes me about the content is how psychological research on humility has almost exclusively focused on potential benefits for individuals, relationships and systems. One chapter adopts a perspective on humility that says it’s not really a virtue so to speak but a construct that is judged within interpersonal relationships.
In fact, Davis and Gazaway contest that power struggles, conflicts, opportunities to share credit or resources, provides information about a person’s degree of humility.
I mention this because now I want to see how this “third way” you say might connect with Mounk. Also, good point about missionaries and missiologists and the way they approach people groups. We can still learn so much.
Hi Pam,
I am dwelling on your words of pluralism.
With the background news from Ukraine/Russia or Israel/Palestine. I wonder how pluralism will play out.
To much blood and pain have been endured at this point. As I may have mentioned in a previous post. Forgiveness is not a trait we will see for a while in both places.
Looking at the greater good for children appears to be the goal that your mediators aimed for. I love that.
Wright and Bird calls us to respond. Marc Livecche and Providence Magazine do the same. They write,
Founded in 2015, Providence examines global statecraft with Christian Realism. We are inspired by Christianity & Crisis, the journal Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr founded in 1941 to argue for the moral and geopolitical imperative of American leadership against totalitarian aggression. We believe American Christians have a special duty to interpret America’s vocation in the world today. We seek to uplift the best of historic Christian political theology, to foster wider conversation about spirituality in politics, and to create a community of serious Christian public thinkers serving America and the world.
Like I said I will have to dwell on your words.
Shalom
Russell~
I write this only 90 minutes from you! Thank you for mentioning Providence Magazine–I’ve not heard of it before. Do you have any copies you can bring to the Advance? I like Neibuhr.
Like you, I am devastated for the children in the countries you mention. You are doing good work, Russell! It’s a joy to hear about your involvements.
Hi Pam,
I hope all the medical stuff works out.
Here is the link for the magazine https://providencemag.com/
Hi Pam-
I needed to read this today: “As a royal priesthood, a chosen nation, might we choose to embrace pluralism because we are confident in our own beliefs that we aren’t meant to be in power and that the Kingdom has come?” Yes, when our voice is the minority, or when we feeling downtrodden we need to have that humble confidence that there is a broader, deeper game afoot.
I am so glad that your experience at Multnomah County gave you a broader application of these concepts.
Jen,
As I mention above in my comments to Travis, I am reading a new to me book called The Joy of Humility: The beginning and End of the Virtues. One contributor writes how Christ’s humility was attainable not as an independent achievement but precisely because of his reliance on Divine Grace. I hope we as Christians who lead can be Holy Reminders to one another of this reliance. Thanks for being the kind of leader who gets that.
That’s a deep post Pam! I will only interact with your last comment: When I read your supervisors response to your question (“We come with the self-determination in that everything we do, we do for the children to have a stable life.”) I couldn’t help but think about the coach I have connected with throughout this program. He will often say, ‘the mission drives everything’ and I am hearing the same thing in your supervisors response. My coach will often re-conceptualize situations–where I might name it as a conflict with another person, he will say you are both on the same team fighting for the mission.
How might the church change if we were not consumed with our own preferences but were focussed on the mission? And do most evangelical churches have a big enough understanding of God’s mission….besides just getting people to heaven? (Thanks for that great Missional/Kingdom theology lesson Travis!).
Could we remain healthily united in the midst of our diversity if we determinedly remained focussed on the Mission: Participating with God in the reconciliation of all things in the Son!
That’s not about politics….but that’s where my brain went as I read your post!
Scott,
Just commenting one line? I’d like to hear more from you since this is our last semester together :).
Something I learned as I was knee-deep in my mentorship this summer was the Criticism is a type of pursuit. I only mention that because of how your coach sees you and a colleague pursuing the same mission yet one perspective can see it as conflict. I am glad your brain went to mission instead of politics because I deeply believe the Church is the answer to our divided social systems. I am curious what you initial response is when you sense conflict at work?
Such a powerful post, Pam. “The more self-differentiated I became, the more whole and healthy I showed up at work, the more freedom my clients experienced.”
This past summer we toured the museum of our denomination’s historical heritage in Springfield, MO. One significant point the tour guide made was that early on in our history, the mission was so important that there was no divide between culture or ethnicity, even when, socially, the divide was insurmountable. And yet within 30-40 years, as systems were put into place, divisive walls of who would be accepted and who was not came into full view.
It was disheartening to see. And yet, it happens to me when I lose focus of what truly matters. God truly loves this world and died for all of us.
Thanks, again, for sharing with such wisdom. I plan to read the book you recommended.
Esther~
I am intrigued by your point on being undivided for so long as a denomination–yet, within one generation the walls went up creating insiders and outsiders. How might humility inform our human nature in this way? Thanks for commenting.
Hi Pam!
Thank you for your insightful perspective. I’m particularly interested in your thoughts on building the Kingdom of God and how we inevitably encounter various forms of empires. In your opinion, do you see any influence of imperial ideas or teachings infiltrating Christianity and the church today? If so, in what ways do they appear, and how do you think they can be addressed or overcome?
Dinka~
What an interesting and thought-provoking question~ As I pondered how the Christian Church practices political positioning, strategies or policies by extending power over another “people group”, mostly, I consider the nationalism we are seeing in the ultra right wing conservative churches and the far leftist ideologies pushing agendas of powerful influence. To be fair, true imperialism colonizes nations. Do we see that within the Church? An honest answer would be that I see people in power and their followers who actually WANT that to happen. Might there be more fault finding with those who follow than with those who lead? What are you witnessing? Thank you for your pastoral and leader response–I so value your perspective.