“It is easier to go to a constant extreme than to stand in the middle of biblical tension.” -Robert McQuilkin

Tension. Specifically, I’m referencing the ability to stand inside of the tension — just as McQuilkin notes above. In my six full years of teaching a faith community week in and week out, the idea of standing in the tension (of whatever subject) might be the most important thing I’ve attempted to convey to The Mercy House community. It’s also the most difficult.

Churches split over tension. Unity is abandoned because of it. People refuse to obey the basic Christian command and value of love because of the discomfort that tension brings. Everyone has their soapboxes, so the idea of being okay sitting next to someone who doesn’t see the world through your particular set of lenses is one of the most difficult things to do. So McQuilkin is on to something here when he notes our tendency to move to the extreme side.

Often, we reference this as the pendulum. We grow up conservative, for example, and later on in life, find that we don’t quite believe the way our parents do. Next thing you know, we throw out everything we’ve ever heard and latch onto the opposite liberal agenda. Both are equally poisonous. The same can be said for the person who allows the pendulum swing to the opposite side when God doesn’t seem to work the way they want. In the end, they abandon any notion of prayer because God didn’t answer them the last time.

Our politics have become poisoned by a two-party system that offers no compromise, no ability to stand in the tension and find common ground. Our churches continue to splinter, because we refuse to stand between two viewpoints and choose to focus on love. In Anderson alone, there are four distinct groups of clergy who meet for “unity” and “prayer.” Four. Too much tension over time made certain persons decide they couldn’t be united with another. And now we see the results.

For our city to come together is for our churches to come together. But that cannot happen until we decide in our hearts that the immature, unbiblical route is to camp at the extreme points of view. The healthiest place is in the middle. The truth is often found in the middle. The tension is uncomfortable, but it’s also the fire through which we are purified and find God at work in our hearts in the places we need it the most.