There Is No “Them”

The divisions in American culture—whether racial, political, socioeconomic, gender-based, or ideological—are both deeply felt and heavily exploited. The notion that we are deliberately pitted against one another, encouraged to see the world in terms of “us vs them,” reflects a fundamental distortion of truth: the manufactured belief that others are inherently our enemies or threats. This deception is both ancient and modern, and it undermines any hope of unity, justice, or peace.

🧩 Major Cultural Divides in the U.S.

Here are just a few of the primary “us vs them” dynamics that shape American society:

• Political: Democrat vs. Republican, conservative vs. progressive
• Racial: Black vs. White (and broader racial binaries like immigrant vs. native-born)
• Economic: Rich vs. poor, working class vs. elite, blue-collar vs. white-collar
• Gender: Male vs. female, or traditionalist vs. feminist/gender-progressive views
• Religious: Christian vs. secular, traditionalist vs. pluralist, Evangelical vs. Mainline
• Geographic: Urban vs. rural, coastal vs. heartland, North vs. South
• Cultural identity: LGBTQ+ vs. traditional family values, woke vs. anti-woke
• Generational: Boomers vs. Millennials, Gen Z vs. “old ways”
• Educational: College-educated vs. non-college-educated
• Medical/Health Beliefs: Pro-vaccine vs. anti-vaccine, mask vs. no mask
• Media/Information: Mainstream media vs. alternative media, fact vs. “fake news”

These binaries shape everything from our voting patterns to our social media algorithms. Many people are conditioned to treat these opposing categories as mutually exclusive, irreconcilable, or even morally superior/inferior.

🧠 The Lie of the “Other”

The idea of the "other"—that people outside of our group are alien, lesser, or dangerous—is not only psychologically harmful but socially destructive. This lie has been strategically used throughout history to:

• Dehumanize enemies during war or colonization
• Justify slavery, apartheid, genocide, or segregation
• Consolidate power by political elites who frame themselves as the protectors against a threatening “them”
• Sustain consumerism, as marketing often defines identity through exclusion (e.g., “cool vs uncool,” “fit vs fat,” “luxury vs basic”)
• Distract from systemic injustice, directing public anger laterally toward neighbors rather than upward toward structures of exploitation

The “us vs them” mindset breeds tribalism, fear, and manipulation. But here’s the spiritual and moral truth:

There is no “them.” There is only “us.”

✝️ A Counter-Cultural Kingdom Truth

From a spiritual and theological perspective, especially in the teachings of Jesus and the early Church, we are told that division is not of God:

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:28

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood…” – Ephesians 6:12

These truths directly oppose the belief that people with different labels are our enemies. The gospel obliterates false categories. It confronts both the fear of the outsider and the pride of the insider.

🪞Who Benefits from Division?

Understanding that division is often manufactured begs the question: Who benefits when we’re at war with each other?

• Politicians secure votes by demonizing the other side.
• Media corporations gain clicks and ad revenue through outrage and conflict.
• Social media algorithms amplify polarizing content to increase engagement.
• Corporations avoid accountability when people are distracted fighting each other.
• Powers and principalities (Eph. 6:12) stir hatred, confusion, and pride, to keep humanity fractured and blind.

🌱 The Truth that Heals

If the idea of “other” is a lie, then the truth is this:

• Every human bears the image of God (Imago Dei)—dignity is universal.
• Difference is not division. Diversity is not a threat—it’s a design.
• Love is not neutral. It actively moves toward those we’re taught to hate.
• Forgiveness and listening are revolutionary in a society built on suspicion.
• Solidarity across lines of race, class, or belief is possible, but it begins by laying down the need to be “right” or “better.”
• Systems can change when people stop seeing others as the enemy.

🔥 Living Out “There Is No Them”

Here’s what living in this truth could look like:

• Choosing conversation over cancellation
• Choosing curiosity over contempt
• Disarming prejudice through shared meals and shared stories
• Voting and acting not only in self-interest, but in love for neighbor
• Seeing through the propaganda that turns neighbors into caricatures
• Looking for the image of God in the face of our ideological “opposite”
• Repenting for any way we’ve upheld division
• Practicing unity without demanding uniformity

🙌 Reflection

The world wants to label you, polarize you, and weaponize your identity against others. But the Kingdom of God says:

“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
“Love your enemies.”
“Who is my neighbor? The one you’re least likely to think.”

In that Kingdom, there are no categories of “us” and “them.” There is only a table, and an invitation.

The image of the table is rich with meaning across the biblical world—from the Ancient Near East (ANE), through the Second Temple Period (STP), into the first-century context of Jesus. In every age, eating together was never just about food—it was about fellowship, identity, peace, and covenant. To share a table was to declare: I am not against you. I belong with you. You are safe with me.

When Jesus uses the language of the table—feasts, banquets, invitations, suppers—He is tapping into a deep cultural and spiritual practice with powerful counter-cultural implications. In a world built on exclusion, Jesus opens His table to all.

II. 🍞 I. The Table in the Ancient Near East (ANE)

➤ Eating together = Peace & Loyalty

In the ANE (2000–500 BCE and onward), hospitality was a sacred obligation, especially in tribal societies. If you welcomed someone into your tent or home and shared a meal, it was more than generosity—it was a pledge of peace.

• To break bread with someone meant you would not harm them, nor betray them.
• A guest under your roof was under your protection, even if they had once been an enemy (cf. Gen. 18:1–8; Gen. 19:1–3).
• Covenants were often sealed with meals (e.g., Gen. 31:44–54 – Jacob and Laban).

Key ANE Concepts:

• Meals = covenantal trust
• Hospitality = moral duty
• Refusing to eat with someone = rejection of relationship

🕍 II. The Table in the Second Temple Period (STP)

➤ Purity, Identity, and Division

By the Second Temple Period (516 BCE–70 CE), meals had taken on increased religious and social meaning:

• Pharisaic and Essene movements emphasized ritual purity in meals (who was clean enough to join the table?).
• Table fellowship = spiritual status. Who you ate with reflected your theology and loyalty to God.
• The temple cult included festival meals (e.g., Passover, Shavuot), symbolizing God’s provision and deliverance.

To share a meal was to say, “You are one of us.”
To exclude someone was to say, “You are not.”

Jesus challenged this mindset constantly.

🕊 III. The Table in the Time of Jesus (1st Century CE)

➤ Radical Inclusion at God’s Table

In Jesus' world, meals were about honor, status, and boundaries. And He turned all of that upside down.

“The Son of Man came eating and drinking…” (Matt. 11:19)

Jesus welcomed sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, and the ritually unclean—to His table.
He didn't ask them to get clean first. The table was where healing began.

Examples:

• Zacchaeus (Luke 19) – a despised traitor, welcomed by Jesus with a dinner invitation
• Simon the Pharisee vs. the sinful woman (Luke 7) – Jesus dines with the “righteous” but affirms the repentant “outsider”
• Feeding the 5,000 – Jesus provides a table in the wilderness, like God in Exodus
• The Last Supper – even Judas, the betrayer, is at the table
• Emmaus (Luke 24) – Jesus is recognized only in the breaking of bread
• Acts 2:42-47 – The early Church “broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts”

In doing this, Jesus demolished the walls of purity, status, and suspicion that separated people.

🍇 IV. Spiritual Meaning: The Table of the Kingdom

“People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” – Luke 13:29

Jesus’ table is eschatological—a picture of what the world will look like when God reigns fully.
The banquet of God is not for the self-righteous or the powerful, but for the humble, hungry, and willing (cf. Isaiah 25:6–9, Luke 14:15–24).

At His table:

• Enemies become friends
• Strangers become family
• The unclean become whole
• The anxious become at peace
• The fractured become one

🧍‍♂️🧍‍♀️ V. There Is No “Them” at the Table of Jesus

The world fractures us by identity—race, class, gender, ideology—but at the table of Jesus, there is no room for those lies.

There is only one loaf, one body (1 Cor. 10:16–17).
And if we sit at Jesus’ table, we must learn to welcome the “them” we were taught to fear.

To eat with someone in the Kingdom is to say:

• “I trust the One who invited you.”
• “We belong to the same Lord.”
• “You are not my enemy.”
• “There is no 'them'—only us.”
• “We are safe here, because Jesus is our peace.”

🙌 Final Reflection: No Fracturing Anxieties

At the table of Jesus, there is no anxiety about status
No fear of betrayal
No worry about who’s worthy
Only invitation, restoration, and joy

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.” – Revelation 3:20

To eat with Jesus is to embrace His kingdom vision:
No fear. No hierarchy. No exclusion. Only communion.