As you are well aware, there is a lot going on right now in these here United States. Where shall I begin? I’m just going to jump right in and share what is in my heart with you.
When I was a young lass (haha), it used to puzzle me when I saw Christians who passionately loved and served God, disagree fiercely with one another. Especially when the disagreement devolved into camps, campaigning, gossip or just plan nastiness. Church board against the pastor. Pastor against the deacon. Sister Singtooloud against Sister Hushyomouth. I would wonder, “how can you love God and be so nasty to your brother/sister in Christ”? In the age of YouTube, I’m sure you’ve seen those videos of deacons and the like fighting in the church parking lot. They are both sadness and hilarity all wrapped up together like a pig in a blanket.
Well, I’ve come to find out that understanding the concept of “being a sinner saved by grace” answers a lot of questions about Christians and their behavior. It’s interesting (and scary) how quickly we can walk outside of the love of God while following our pride. There is a reason why Jude told us to keep ourselves in the love of God…..
As we walk in the love of Christ, we are frequently faced with questions around righteous. What is good in God’s sight? What is holy? What is godly? We quickly deduce our dilemmas to “right vs wrong” and then (hopefully) choose the one that is “right”. We tend to immediately move on to judging that which is “wrong” and deeming it ungodly, unholy, and in some cases, downright devilish or demonic. Unfortunately, we all too often travel this path in our conclusions about others. It really stinks when we do this with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Here is one way it typically plays out in THREE, YES! THREE EASY STEPS!
- We arrive at an opinion that we thoughtfully and maybe prayerfully conclude to be “right”.
- We automatically demonize everyone whose opinion does not match ours.
- We join camps with and sanctify those who agree with us.
Let me back up and be clear. This pattern is not a consequence of Christianity but a consequence of our modern day culture. Our lack of tolerance, independent thinking and sound reasoning frequently pits us savagely against our neighbor. This is a tragedy that we must guard against. Please hear me: I can disagree with YOU and still be in right standing with God. I can disagree with YOUR convictions and still be in right standing with God. This (life, existence, righteousness) is not about you and your crew. Nor is it about me and mine.
Before fist fights started breaking out in church parking lots, there was Euodia and Syntche (Philippians 2:2-3). See my next post for more!
blackandwhiteandshadesofgreen 