“. . . Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” – Ephesians 4:3
It’s that time of year; it’s Super Bowl time, the national championship of professional football. I’m old enough to have seen parts of just about all sixty Super Bowls. There have been huge league changing upsets like when the New York Jets (my team) of the upstart American Football League, a sixteen-point underdog, defeated the then Baltimore Colts of the established National Football League. That game literally changed the League. There have been nail biting games with last minute heroics like when the New York Giants upset the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, or in Super Bowl XLIX when the New England Patriots managed to hold off the Seattle Seahawks in the final seconds. There have been dynasties where a team wins consecutive Super Bowls such as with the Pittsburgh Steelers. There have been teams, like the Buffalo Bills, which appeared in four consecutive Super Bowls, without a win!
The Super Bowl football games have become almost a national holiday. They are a national event. The games are a time for family gatherings whether you like football or not. A menu has been established of wings, nachos, chili, and a host of other goodies. Only the best TV commercials are on display. The Super Bowl has become a cultural time of national celebration. And from time to time, like this year, rematches of teams provide an opportunity for revenge as we saw the Seattle Seahawks defeat the New England Patriots 29-13.
The Super Bowl is not only a sporting event, but there is also a half time show originally meant to express pride and patriotism and to unite the nation through entertainment. In times of war the half time show served to unify the nation. But in recent years there has been a noticeable “progressive” change in these half times. There was the “nipple slip” costume “malfunction” of Super Bowl XXXVIII. There was one woman entertainer who rode a gigantic beast à la Revelation 17. Songs and choreography have been morphing toward more edginess, the sexually explicit, and vulgarity. The half times aren’t all bad, but it’s not something parents can just let their children watch with impunity. Parental guidance is a must because dark influences are everywhere.
This year the relatively unknown Puerto Rican celebrity Bad Bunny was tapped to highlight halftime. His performance was done in Spanish which segregated the audience. Once the translation of the lyrics to his songs were obtained, they were found to be highly sexually suggestive and inappropriate for children. [1]The message was not one of national celebration or national pride, but rather a thinly veiled promotion of America as a continent rather than the United States of America. Add to this sexually suggestive choreography and one is moved to wonder if such progressiveness is the direction our nation can survive. It was a defiance of English as our National language (established March 1, 2025). It ignored United States of America exceptionalism reducing it to simply one of many “American” nations. It really wasn’t about the USA, national pride, patriotism, or thanks for God’s blessings to this nation. And what makes such a show all the more peculiar is that it was presented in a year that our nation will celebrate its quarter millennium mark. In a year that the United States of America records its 250th year of existence, there was no sign that anyone really cared. That’s sad. That’s segregating and a slap in the face for the segment of our nation’s population that is passionately patriotic.
Turning Point USA (TPUSA) provided an alternative to Bad Bunny and it was a stark contrast. It was not perfect. After a glance I turned it off. My wife and I decided watching the Super Bowl and associated entertainment was just not worth it. We were partly wrong. I understand those of Puerto Rican descent were inclined to take pride in a Puerto Rican half time performer. I wish I could join them in support of such pride. But we are “Christians,” citizens of heaven first, above all other allegiances (Philippians 3:20-21). There are lines that as a Christian I cannot cross. Some here might accuse Christian Trump supporters of being hypocritical. President Trump can be very indiscreet and even vulgar at times. But Trump’s vulgarities are mostly, as far as I can tell, unintended faux pas of someone that needs the Lord. That is not to excuse them, but only to understand them a bit more in their context. President Trump has been able to accomplish what he’s accomplished and what he will continue to accomplish because of who he is, a kind of junkyard dog of a President. He’s on a mission and we need him to be who he is if he is to be used to help turn this country around. As a New Yorker I get his demeanor and strong language. I’ve learned to live in this culture. What might offend a Midwesterner or Westerner, or someone in Europe, doesn’t offend me. There are some apologies I wish President Trump would make. But on his mission apologies are just not a priority. I pray he will come around and come closer to and know Jesus. But the BIG difference for me is Bad Bunny’s performance was very intentional and aimed at diminishing the USA not uniting us as citizens of this country. There is a difference.
I believe the message sent by the NFL was not so much aimed at giving Puerto Ricans a reason to take pride as much as it was to send a message of globalism and a new order that, whether you like it or not, does not include “one nation under God.” I don’t mean to offend any of my Puerto Rican brothers or sisters in Christ with what I’m about to say. But the conclusion of Bad Bunny was a crotch grabbing support of taking down of the United States of America while the TPUSA alternative, I later discovered, concluded with a confession of faith by Kid Rock and a call to people, all people, to come to Jesus.[2] I did not watch the Super Bowl this year, but I’ll take the TPUSA second option every time.
Imagine being in jail, separated from those you love, yearning to be with them only to hear they were fighting with each other. If all you could do was write them, what would you write? The Apostle Paul was imprisoned for his faith. Apparently he heard there was some infighting among his brothers and sisters in the church at Ephesus. What he wrote them is a good example for just such a letter. He wrote:
Ephesians 4:1-3 (NKJV) – I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
These words tell us Christians should walk or live with each other in unity. We should be lowly rather than haughty, gentle rather than brutal, longsuffering and loving rather than impatient and self-seeking. Christians walking worthy of their calling in Christ should always seek the Holy Spirit’s help to live in unity and peace with fellow believers. And unity is something we should promote and encourage among all people.
Our world needs unity. Our world, our nation, is very divided. In these United States of America we have forgotten our Pledge of Allegiance to one another. The Pledge of Allegiance reads: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”. We seem so far from that nowadays. The Pledge used to be recited in our schools at the beginning of each day. Now only about half of the states, if that many, continue to do so. I’m all for reintroducing the Pledge of Allegiance to our youth, to everyone.
The placards and shouts of activists in our streets expose the ultimate planned insurrection of rioters. Their actions are evidence many have not only forgotten the Pledge, but they have forsaken the Pledge. There is a sick segment of our population that sees the United States of America as largely illegitimate conquerors. They forget or choose to selectively remember many of they themselves have roots as Conquistadors. Such hypocrisy. Such self-deception.
Nevertheless, if terrorists attacked from within or China, Russia, or Iran or a combination of the above or others attacked the USA, it seems like a large segment of our population would aid, abet, and even cheer invaders on. They are so obsessed with hatred of our nation that they will get in bed with just about any faction to accomplish their goal. But strange bedfellows can be dangerous. Islam and Sharia law are no friends of radical leftist lawlessness. Proponents of Islam and Sharia are fanatical, devious, and unwavering in their ambitions for a world caliphate. They are rigid and they are ruthless. “Religion of peace”? I think not. Being a part of the red/green alliance has its perils and infighting too. Even those trying to divide and conquer the United States have their problems of disunity.
Disunity is a terrible thing; treachery is even worse. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be. . . traitors. . .” (2 Timothy 3:1-4). The only solace I take in the depth of disunity and treachery around us is that it’s just one more indication of the last days and that we are closer to the return of Christ for His bride the Church. Maranatha! Come LORD Jesus.
The strategy of Satan and our enemies is to divide and conquer. Divide by race, culture, nationality, ideology, class, gender, worldview, etc., by all means divide. We are one media event of “injustice” away from civil war, or at least it very much seems that way. We are one more gigantic lie or spin of a story away from reducing an orderly society to a dog-eat-dog street fight to the death. It’s a scary time to be alive.
But Christian, don’t be overwhelmed. Don’t be seduced by idols. Don’t let yourself be reduced to being recluses. Don’t run inside, lock the doors, close the windows and plan to ride it out in your safe space shelter. No. God has sovereignly birthed you and called you to “such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). God has a plan for you. You are His workmanship, a poem written by Him from the beginning to tell others of His mighty redemptive purposes (Ephesians 2:10). That is our priority. God hasn’t called you to be a coward, but has commissioned you to be a powerful, compassionate, an unshakable first responder to the conflict at hand (2 Timothy 1:7).
We have so much as a nation, but we are distracted by divisions from enjoying our bounty. The Corinthian church was a bountifully gifted church, but they were squandering their spiritual wealth by their divisiveness. The Apostle Paul pleaded with them, “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). We are so very far from that both inside and outside of the Church. We are living in a Corinthian time.
Not all division is bad. It’s good to have dialogue and discussion between those with differing opinions. This helps us weigh evidence and come to conclusions. The Apostle commented, “For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you” (1 Corinthians 11:19). Differences of opinion can help us to greater understanding if we keep the channels of communication open. But if we fail or refuse to tolerate others and discuss our differences, it only leads to darkness.
We must not slide into quarrelsomeness. “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” ( 2 Timothy 2:24-26). Today people look at those with differing opinions as the enemy. The Leftist/Socialist/Communist view of class struggle has infected our culture so much that there is no longer room for discussion but only hatred for those with differing opinions. This is all according to a plan. Read Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago and know this is all following a devilish plan. Read Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, (a book dedicated to the first rebel, Lucifer) to know the tactics of this ambitious revolution are nothing new. There’s a grand plan being followed. Part of the plan is that the mob shouts down those that refuse to adopt their views. If resistance persists, there just may be an assassin’s bullet waiting. It’s a plan meant to cause and use fear. If your opponent can’t be shouted down then it’s acceptable to put them down, permanently. Stay inside. Be safe, or we’ll end your life. That’s their message. That’s a scary state of affairs, but not one we should allow to reduce us to cowardice.
What has happened to us? It used to be politicians from both sides of the aisle could agree to disagree and then dine together, even be warm friends. Not so today. In our radicalized insurgent atmosphere there’s no room for discussion. Truth, thoughtfulness, facts, evidence, reason, these are dangerous things to the enemy. That’s because they know truth and evidence do not support their views. Such things are anathema to the “Cause” and must be squashed. Jesus said He wouldn’t break a bruised reed of snuff out a smoldering wick of people (Matthew 12:20). Rebels go out of their way to stomp bruised reeds and quench smoldering wicks of resistance to their cause. Such is the divisive Rumpelstiltskinian temper tantrum environment of the radicalized and robotically indoctrinated.
But for those called by Christ there is a line in the sand we cannot cross or compromise on. We are to, “. . . have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Ephesians 5:11). We are to be sanctified or set apart to God by adhering to His scripture truth (John 17:17). The Church is supposed to be the ground and pillar of truth (1 Timothy 3:15). Those who step in the demonstration lines with the insurrectionists and call themselves “Christians,” the awokened ones, need to be exposed for who they are in truth, that is, members of a long line of false Christianity who have, “a form of godliness but denying its [true] power” (2 Timothy 3:4). Even so, we are called to speak truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
The trouble today is that people look at anyone whose “truth” doesn’t match their truth as being automatically hateful rather than possibly loving. A loving person speaking truth is not in a competition to merely win an argument but speaks that truth in loving concern for the one they feel needs to hear it. The Christian doesn’t tell a person they are in an immoral lifestyle or caught up in some sinful cause because of one-upmanship, but because of genuine loving concern. It is love that moves them to risk being hated. It is love that moves them to speak truth to the mob of sinners even at great risk of injury. Yes, the genuine Christian is compelled by the love of Christ to speak truth (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Jesus’ redemptive mission was to be a witness to the truth (John 18:37). He went to the cross for the truth of the gospel. That He rose from the dead is proof the truth He spoke and lived was and is right. Being a truth barer like Jesus is what Christians are called to be and live (Romans 8:29; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:1-6). Christian we are not permitted to cross the line from truth into falsehood.
So, in all this waring and combativeness it’s clear we cannot compromise simply to keep the peace. We cannot afford, for redemption’s sake, to make an idol of unity. What are we to do then? Let me offer a few suggestions.
First, understand the ultimate division is between sinners and their Creator. “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). Sin is the ultimate enemy. Satan is a close second. Recognize who your real enemy is. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Stop looking at the human being shouting at you as the “enemy.” When we look at people as enemies we are falling for the deception of the real enemy, Satan. Instead Jesus tells us, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). The best way you can love, bless, do good to those who hate you, is to share the gospel with them and patiently love them into the Kingdom. As long as sin reigns, there won’t be unity. Share the gospel and help people repent of their sins. Only then will we begin to see more unity.
Second, live out in the Spirit Peter’s fivefold evangelistic exhortation: “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil “(1 Peter 3:15-17). The five-fold evangelistic exhortation is:
- Sanctify the Lord God in your heart. Keep God on the throne of your heart. Guard against the temptation to embrace anything or anyone who would challenge or try to usurp God’s predominant position of Lord in your heart. Don’t compromise God or His word for anything or anyone.
- Always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is in you. Know what you believe and how to communicate it. Know it so well that you are rattle-proofed and able to speak clearly and concisely in the heat of the discussion battle. Know how to give a defense of what you believe and the hope that you have. Pray. Prepare. Be empowered by the Spirit. Then persist and never give up.
- Be meek. Meekness is not weakness; it is strength under control. Jesus said. “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Self-control is a work of the Spirit in you (Galatians 5:22-24). The difference between winning and losing is often determined by who can remain in control of their feelings and thinking.
- Have a healthy amount of fear. Don’t fear your adversary but fear the eternal destiny your adversary faces without Christ. Never forget that the Bible says we aren’t to be cowardly, but to rely on the power of the Spirit, the love of the Spirit, and the soundness of mind that comes from the Spirit (2 Timothy 1:7).
- Have a good conscience. Be sincere. Be honest. Be humble. Don’t be manipulative. Don’t have any selfish agenda. Honestly and lovingly seek the best for the one you are sharing with. Don’t give the person you are talking to any reason to discount or accuse you of wrongdoing. Be willing to suffer unjustly. Be so above reproach that when someone brings a false accusation against you the absurdity of it causes them to be ashamed. Sometimes it will be the will of God for you to suffer, just make sure if it is, it’s because you are doing good not evil.
Whatever happened to unity? Well, sin happened to unity. Truly unity will only finally come in its fullness when we are with the Lord. Keep in mind the words if Jesus, “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division” (Like 12:51). When we ask, “Whatever happened to unity?” we aren’t really asking the right question. Jesus told us to expect division. But that division comes mostly from the sinful world. In the Church, the body of Christ, we should be united. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). Yes, behold and enjoy unity among your brothers and sisters in Christ. And if for some reason you’re at odds with them, don’t let the sun go down without resolving the problem (Ephesians 4:26). Let love cover any sin that divides you from a brother or sister in Christ (1 Peter 4:8). Do everything you can to maintain the unity of the church. And love your neighbor, and even your unsaved enemies until they turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, and receive forgiveness of their sins through faith in Jesus (Acts 26:18).
Father in Heaven, in Jesus’ name we ask you to reunite our nation. Father, unite Your Church. Father, make us unifiers. Father, please make us peacemakers and have us called “the sons [and daughters] of God” (Matthew 5:9). Father, we ask You to make us what we need to be, to do what You call us to do, for Your glory, in the power of the Spirit, until Jesus returns. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
1 (15) You WEREN’T wrong. Bad Bunny’s halftime show was a STATEMENT from the NFL – YouTube
[2] (15) Watch Kid Rock Convert To Christ LIVE on stage… – YouTube