Charity

I just read something that I must admit blew me away.  I guess it had that effect for purely selfish reasons.  There is a song I like that contains words that have meant a lot to me over my lifetime.  “Every man has his beliefs on everything from big to small, Some of them we must defend with everything we’ve got, some of them don’t matter much at all. 
What I just read was said by a Phillip Melanchthon.  “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
I have felt fairly strongly about such things for a while.  There seems to be so much that can divide us if we let it.  Yet almost without exception division causes grief when one party is gone.  So often it is “if only”.  It is probably why there is so much good stuff in circulation now, advising to tell someone you love them while you can.
At times though people stick to their guns for the wrong reasons.  The matter may be inconsequential, but it assumes proportions enough to divide for a lifetime.  I heard about an elderly couple of ladies that had never married but lived in the same house.  A matter arose that divided them.  Neither was willing to move out, so they drew lines in the home demarcating who’s was who’s territory and never spoke to each other.
This is not to lessen the importance of some things.  What matters to me may not matter to you and vice versa.  I do ask myself though, is anything worth the forfeiture of charity.  My answer to that is no.
I may agree to disagree with someone, but I do not consider the disagreement worth the loss of friendship.  There may be much we agree on and we may have many common interests.
A friend of mine is going through the division thing at the moment.  It does take two to tango, but I know my friend and the reason for the rift is built on lies.  What I really like about what my friend is doing is they know they can only love.  When the other is ready for reconciliation, then all they would have received from my friend is love.  That is not as hard as it could be when it was being practiced the whole time.  “In all things, charity.”
One of the biggest things I try to avoid is answering like with like.  It is too easy to put down when I have been put down.  To me, that perpetuates the problem.  The cycle needs to be broken and I may as well be the one to do it.
Definitely easier said than done, but definitely worth it.