Distrust can lead us to not trust our brothers and sisters in Christ and to have a cynical and destructive attitude about others. It can also cause us to discard the knowledge and wisdom of established institutions and put alternative sources in their place. The American ideal of the rugged individual makes us think that we all forge our own way in the world, but this is an illusion. We all trust something or someone, we just have to decide who to trust. (You can read more about this idea in my earlier essay “The Danger of Distrust”.)

A general attitude of distrust can be destructive, but we still need to question ourselves before we trust someone. If I follow this person, will I be led astray? How do I know the truth when I see it? What is the truth in this situation? Knowing who to trust is hard, and complete and utter confidence in what is true is likely never fully attainable. There will always be some element of faith or trust that we have to finally put in a person or institution.

When we finally decide where we stand on an issue, whether it is our position on masks, vaccines, organic produce, or climate change, there is a tendency for us to align ourselves with a group or tribe that hold our beliefs. It’s comforting to know that there are many other people who agree with us. We might join a Facebook group or follow some similar-minded people on Instagram, and then bask in the confirmation as it rolls in.

There is usually a way to determine who deserves to be part of the group and who does not. Often the litmus test is that if a person disagrees with a basic tenet of the group, he is out. A common heuristic you might hear is: “Those who are not for us are against us.” This makes sense. If someone doesn’t follow what the group has decided is right, then that person doesn’t belong.

While reading through the Gospel of Luke the other day, I came across a puzzling discussion between Jesus and his disciples.

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

(Luke 9:49, 50)

Something doesn’t seem right with this section of Scripture. Instead of excluding someone who isn’t part of the group, it seems to embrace all who are not actively working against the group.

Paul said something similar in his letter to the church at Philippi.

Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

(Philippians 1:15-18)

Paul recognized that some were preaching Christ out of selfishness and were even doing it to spite him, but that meant nothing to him. He was just glad that Christ was being preached, even if it wasn’t being preached from a pure heart.

I don’t know what all to take from these two portions of Scripture. Certainly Paul doesn’t mean that false teachers get a free pass (read Galatians if you want to see what he has to say about them), and Jesus did directly oppose many groups during his ministry. What struck me about these verses is that it seems the kingdom of God is not as exclusionary as many of the online and offline tribes we see today.

We may disagree with how exactly how someone lives or how they follow the commands of Christ, but these verses indicate that they can still be a child of God and can be doing God’s work nonetheless. Our response should be humility in our incomplete knowledge of that person’s status in the Kingdom and a gratefulness that they are preaching Christ, even if it doesn’t seem like they fit into our tribe.