During the days leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, President John F. Kennedy’s cabinet was divided on how to approach the Soviet nuclear threat in Cuba, less than a hundred miles from Florida. It did not matter which side was right in the end, but that they discussed and debated to arrive at the best option for the country and the world, to avoid World War III and nuclear destruction. The openmindedness, differing perspectives, and discussion brought the cabinet to the place where they were able to maneuver. The world today is extremely polarized, much like those two groups in Kennedy’s cabinet when the world was on the brink of nuclear war. It proves next to impossible to have conversations about serious issues, and when they do occur, they culminate in anger and division. These are the things we must hold in tension: being firm in our beliefs and treating others as fellow members of mankind. If humanity is to believe that God created man in His image, then man should live out that truth to the best of his ability, treating others as fellow imagebearers of God. Identifying with groups and categorizing others into groups is something humans do by nature. However, since we tend to be dysfunctional, these mental categorizations, schemas and stereotypes, often become negative and turn into prejudice, discrimination, and dehumanization. There is certainly community within groups that is positive and what God calls us to participate in, but there is also unnecessary division, as all are created by God in His image, even if they have not accepted Christ. It is evident in God’s world and in man’s biological design that being around and connected to others is beneficial. Everyone seeks meaning, purpose, connection, and love, which are found in God and the people He has made. There is no political party that qualifies someone to be a Christian. There is no race or ethnicity that qualifies or disqualifies someone from being a Christian. There is no past that disqualifies or qualifies someone as a Christian. Christ unifies; nothing else can. It is most important that each life honors God first, before any other loyalty to a group or person. Every person is an image-bearer of God before any other identifier. Tolerance is not sufficient when God calls His people to love. Every human being has the opportunity to believe in the truths Scripture speaks about; they are true for all time and all people. That is what makes humanity one: the connection every human has by being made in God’s image, and the opportunity to be made new in Christ and indwelled by the Holy Spirit. This is the starting point from which all humankind should see one another. There are not enough differences to excuse man from becoming as polarized as the world is today. Scripture proposes a countercultural truth that unites mankind; all that needs to be done is to acknowledge it and live it out. Community with God and others is the solution to this polarization. What needs to be recognized is the humanity each person carries, the value each person inherently has. In the face of dehumanization, choose to treat others in the truth that God created them on purpose and for a purpose. This, I believe, is God’s greatest desire for us: to all participate in His kingdom for eternity. That starts here, right now, today, with you and me, and every neighbor, professor, and barista, every person you encounter with different beliefs than you. Life is too short to dwell on and argue about things that will not matter in the end. There is space for emotions, disagreements, hurts, and joys, but only if it includes every person being treated as a human being first. Even in these dark times, Jesus calls His people to be salt and light. Sharing the Gospel does not always mean explicitly telling others about Christ. Sometimes it is being attentive to others, putting yourself in their shoes, and loving them. The least we can do is love, reflecting God’s love, and that will change history. Maybe not all of history, maybe not even the polarization in this country, state, or city, but it can change one person’s history, life, world, and story. It starts with one; the rest is in His hands.