It is sometimes said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest
link. That is certainly true in a physical science meaning, and metaphorically
is said to be true as well. So if our goal as a society is to have a stronger
chain, the question becomes, “What do we do with the weakest link?”
There are those
who say that the weakest link should be removed from the chain in order to
strengthen the chain. That philosophy is akin to the law of the wild, where the
weakest of the herd are removed by predators or through natural selection or
from disease. In the natural world, weakness is well-defined, and can be
quickly identified and cast off. As humans, however, what happens when some
humans begin to decide that other humans are weaker? How is weakness defined?
One political
ideology has evolved around defining weakness. In this view, “weakness” is any
difference, no matter its origin, and no matter whether the difference results
in “weakness” at all. According to this ideology, those of a different color,
or who speak a different language, or worship in a different way, or have a
different sexual orientation, or live on another side of town, are weak links
in the chain, and must be cast aside. “Only the strong survive, and we get to
decide who the strong are.” This political ideology claims the name of “Christian”
to describe its philosophy.
But what exactly
does Christ have to say about the chain imagery? When a lawyer asked him to
name the greatest commandment of his faith, Christ is said to have answered, “The
greatest is love…., and the second is love.” Another leader of the faith, the
Apostle Paul, said that we should “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill
the law of Christ.” Loving and bearing one another’s burdens suggest that among
those who are images of the Creator, there is no weak link. We don’t live by
the law of nature. We should know better, because we have been taught better.
I’m not so naïve as
to believe that God takes sides in these human political battles. But I believe
that God calls us to love and to take care of each other, to bear one another’s
burdens, to look at every human being as the image of the Creator.
And that’s why I’m
a Democrat.
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