“We know that God works all things together for good.” – Romans 8:28 (CEB)
I recently watched a special on Ne&lix entitled, “The Greatest Night in Pop.” The special was terrific. Maybe some of you have seen it? The special is focused on the behind-the-scenes action as the song, “We are the World,” was recorded in 1985. The song was produced by Quincy Jones and written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson. The motivation was to raise money for famine relief efforts in Ethiopia. The special showed some of the events that took place behind the scenes. Without sharing too much, we see the strong role that Stevie Wonder played bringing everyone together. He even helped a shy Bob Dylan understand what his part should sound like.
A further highlight was a handwritten note that was placed on the front door. The note said, “Check your ego at the door.” With a group that included Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Diana Ross, there were some strong personalities present. As much as anything though, I thought it was wonderful to see different people working together for a common good. With our world polarized today and the strong comments that some share on social media, this is hard. But there’s always hope.
Other than recording a hit song, one hope for any group of people is to turn to the writings of St. Augustine, the fifth-century philosopher. Augustine provides a wonderful model on coming together with his words, “In essentials, unity; in non-essen(als, liberty; in all things, love.” Basically, he is saying that all parties need to find common ground. The parties need to establish what is essential and agree on the basics. From here, all parties need to realize that some things are non-essential, so we can allow some freedom. That’s good. With everything though, we need to work together in love. We need to have each other’s backs. These timeless words are not easy to follow, but they provide a nice path to move forward. Might we consider these thoughts today!
Peace and blessings, Scott