We live in a dividing culture where it is common for us to be suspicious of one another, to accuse one another, to gossip about one another, or to envy one another. We often approach life as though it is a matter of “us” against “them.”
But the Holy Book commands us to take a different approach to this matter of “one another.”
More than 50 times in the Scriptures that follow the arrival of Jesus on our planet, we are instructed to care for one another in various ways. For example, we are charged to love one another (John 13:34 35 and 15:12; 1 Peter 4:8; and 1 John 3:11 and 4:11 12), to honor one another (Romans 12:10), to welcome one another (Romans 15:7), to show hospitality to one another (1 Peter 4:9), to live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16), to be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50), to forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13), to bear with one another (Ephesians 4:2 and Colossians 3:13), to encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18 and 5:11), to build up one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), to serve one another (Galatians 5:13 and 1 Peter 4:10), to be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32), and to pray for one another (James 5:16).
God calls us to care for one another. But our spiritual enemy, the devil, seeks to divide us, knowing that when we are divided, we become ineffective.
Greek mythology tells the story of Cadmus, whose search for his sister Europa was blocked by a dragon. Cadmus slew the dragon, pulled out all of the dragon’s teeth, and buried them in a field. When Cadmus had to cross that field at a later date, he found that every tooth had grown into an armed giant. Needing to cross the field but unable to defeat all the giants, Cadmus devised a plan. Hiding behind a tree, he threw a stone at one of the giants. Thinking another giant had struck him, that giant retaliated by striking his neighbor. Their fighting escalated, drawing all the other giants into the conflict. Before long, every giant was dead or wounded, and Cadmus was able to pass through safely.
No matter how many we may be or how strong we may be, when we become divided against one another, we merely harm each other.
But when we care for one another, we can move mountains, or at least a barn. When a rising creek near Bruno, Nebraska, put Herman Ostry’s barn floor under 29 inches of water, he asked his friends for help. His son Mike devised a latticework of steel tubing and nailed, bolted and welded it on the inside and outside of the barn, adding hundreds of handles. Three hundred forty four friends and volunteers lifted the 17,000 pound barn and carried it 143 feet to higher ground, each person supporting less than 50 pounds. Great things can happen when we care for one another.