When people are trapped within a binary paradigm of thinking the world divides into winners and losers, rich and poor, right and wrong, valid and invalid, sinners and saints. I say trapped intentionally because duality is a prison, a poison, and a darkening of the soul.

Our country, if you can’t tell, is horribly stuck and as a result our sense of gratitude has morphed. Thankfulness within a binary system is possible only 50% of the time. It’s a sure sign we have lost the ability to discern.

Once again our political environment serves to illuminate a deeply spiritual consideration. I didn’t vote for either main candidate because I saw neither of them as fit for president, so these comments come from a non partisan perspective.

It’s time we all wake up from our anesthesia. The machine is enslaving us more by the minute. Slaves are smug and condescending. Slaves are unwilling to accept results of a fair election. The hypocrisy, rhetoric, and divisive criticism is at a fever pitch and few seem to have eyes to see that nobody wins in this scenario.

Who really wins on the long, silent drive home when fighting with a spouse or child?

The whole game is to get both sides to blame each other. Then everyone loses:

• We lose our power.
• We lose our freedom.
• We lose our time.
• We lose our life.
• We become unthankful.

Luke 18:11 tells a story of the proud Pharisee who stands up in front of everyone and prays a dualistic prayer that says: “God, I thank you that I’m not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like those tax collectors.”

The dualism machine creates Pharisees on both sides. The end result is false pride which makes us losers while we think we are winners. It’s pride that can’t handle reality. It’s pride all day long. Pride is the most unthankful we can ever be.

By contrast in the story, the tax collector (the loser by the dualistic definition) stood far off, not lifting his eyes to heaven, beating his breast and asking that God would have mercy on him, a sinner.

The end result was that he went down to his house justified. While the Pharisee did not. CAN YOU SEE THIS???

The one who is supposed to be right, wasn’t. The one who is supposed to be wrong, wasn’t. To be justified is to be made whole, to be accepted, to lose the division that separated him from God and all others.

Being united is within our grasp. It’s not by the republicans way, and its not by the democrats way. It’s by God’s way, the way of love. Pride separates, humility unites. The immigrant and the unemployed factory worker want the same things for their kids. We only differ from each other in minor ways, and only the truly thankful (justified) can see this. God’s path forward is never regressive nor against one group or another, it is always inclusive and progressive. God is not on one side of the isle.

A New world is obtainable the moment we let go of our pride and become thankful people. So stop protesting! Stop gloating! Start repenting and watch the world become new again.