The Bond to Hold Society Together
Israel hath forgotten his Maker.--Hos. 8: 14.
Having forgotten his Maker, what happened to Israel?
It is a familiar story, and a tragic one--the story of a great nation born and developed in a great faith, finally losing that faith and its ideals, and then gradually decaying and crumbling to its ruin.
Severing the bond that bound them to their Maker, Israel broke the bond that held them together--the bond of brotherhood. Forgetting their common Father, they forgot they were brothers. That was the indictment brought against them by the prophet Malachi: "Have we not all one Father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother?” (Mal. 2: 10).
We are witnessing the same sort of thing today--men and nations forgetting that we all have one Father, that we are brothers, and in consequence dealing treacherously one against another.
Narrow ideas of nationalism have made nations jealous of their neighbor nations. That jealousy has turned them into bitter rivals, and set them in conflict with one another. The spirit of brotherhood has been ruled out.
Not only is there strife between nations, but within the nations you see people divided into all sorts of antagonistic groups, striving one against the other.
How unbrotherly is the prejudice between the different races? What has cursed the world more than race prejudice? Think of the cruelties that have been inspired by it. And still its mad work goes on! What will be the end of all this madness, all this strife and conflict, all these hatreds and antagonisms? Unless we can find an adequate force to control these evil propensities and passions of human nature, our civilization cannot survive.
Our hope lies in religion--the religion that says with Jesus, “Our Father.” To say to God, "Our Father,” is to say to every man in the world, of whatever race or color or class or nationality, "Our brother.”
The bond that binds us to one Father and together in one family--that is the bond to hold society together.
