The vocabulary of the world is not the language of the Spirit. When followers of Jesus use over-simplified definitions to define other believers, we align ourselves with the spirit of the world and lose the distinction of our union in Christ.

Labels like “Christian Nationalist” and “Hate Speech” are making the rounds with increasing frequency as our national election is approaching. Those words create a lumping effect that places labels on people corralling them into a group to be easily discredited and discarded. 

While there are misguided mindsets that give the government too much credit, the overwhelming majority of those placed under the banner of a “Christian Nationalist” are simply people who love their country and believe that how they vote can make our world a better place. They would never for a moment believe their country is above God.

The definition of “Hate Speech” has been used as an overarching condemnation of anyone who offers a contradiction to an approved social narrative. I’ve met too many loving believers who have these opposing opinions, and they would never hate anyone. They are simply offering an opinion based on the unchanging truth of Scripture. 

We need to find better ways to engage fellow believers. The definitions of the world can only create shallow interpretations of another person that will divide us. The “they” we use to define another believer is always “us” in God’s Kingdom. It is worth the effort required to find better words to use that don’t label and dismiss people but engage them in love so that we can offer the world an image of our union in Christ.

As Jesus was praying His final prayer just before His betrayal and arrest, He prayed, “I’m praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in me because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind – just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, so they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, so they’ll be as unified and together as we are – I in them and you in me. Then they’ll be mature in this oneness and give the godless world evidence that you’ve sent me and loved them in the same way you’ve loved me.”(John 17:22-23).