I see it everyday. Memes. Comments. Posts. Someone always has something to say about someone else, and it’s not often good. Most of the time it is some kind of commentary on a particular group or type of people, noting how they don’t line up to some standard that the person posting has arbitrarily set.
And this really makes me angry. Particularly when the people that are posting claim to be followers of Christ – Christians.
Two different people that I have talked with this week have said something along the lines of, “I just can’t do church because of the damage done to me by the people who are supposed to be Christ followers.”
This is a problem. Fellow Christians, listen to me – WE ARE THE PROBLEM!
Last I checked, we haven’t been given all of the answers, we haven’t been gifted with the fullness of God’s plans for the world and the humanity therein, but we have specifically been told that we are not to act as judges of our fellow humans.
As I was listening to Pray As You Go this morning, the passage was Romans 2:1-11, which says:
Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. 2 You say, “We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.” 3 Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: 7 to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.
If God shows no partiality, why do we? After all, Paul tells us here that WE HAVE NO EXCUSE that allows us to judge others.
So, instead of focusing on what everyone else is doing wrong or how everyone else is living their life, how about we focus on where we are in need of God’s grace, and living in such a way that brings glory to God. This kind of life will have more far-reaching and positive impact than one in which we dub ourselves the judge of humankind.
O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church
I have been quiet lately. Ok, I have been quiet for a long time when it comes to this blog. Life has been, let’s say, a chaos of my own making. What that really means is that I was the one who said, “yes” when God said, “go to seminary.” For the last 2-1/2 years I have been continuing my life as wife, mother, housekeeper (although I should probably be fired from that one), Growth & Nurture Leader, race director, and friend (even though I sometimes have failed at that one) while attempting to keep my head above water in a great but challenging Master of Divinity program. How’s that going, you ask? Well, let’s just say I will be done December 10, but who’s counting?
I have loved seminary. From the friends I have made to the professors that have influenced me to the subjects that have challenged me, I have loved seminary. But it has been a challenging time. Between the rigors of classes – time management, paper writing, reading (and then reading some more) – and the constant nature of life, including the grief of losing my dad – there have been times of struggle, joy, hardship and hope. And even now there is anticipation and uncertainty about what God’s plans are for my family and I as we near the completion of the ordination process in the PC(USA). You know what happens in times like this? Anxiety.
Anxiety isn’t necessarily good or bad. In fact it can be both and it can be neutral. It is our response to anxiety that is the real issue. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in our country right now. Turn on the TV and you are bombarded by political ads. Turn on the radio and get more of the same. Drive down the street and see signs in yards all around you. Sit in a restaurant and hear people talking about who to vote for. Scroll through Facebook and feel the anxiety rise.
The other day, I saw a friend post an article on Facebook. It was a good article with good points to think about. But what got me was the conversation (or confrontation) that then happened in the comments section under the post. Here was a post by a Christian friend, meant to share some insight, with comments by another Christian friend that didn’t just take issue with the article, but took issue with the poster’s personal convictions and viewpoint. Now, I know this is nothing new, this is what seems to be happening everywhere and social media is just one of the arenas where people seem to be unable to interact in ways that build up instead of tear down, but this particular incident just won’t let me sit back and stay silent any longer.
The assigned reading for one of my fall classes spoke directly to what I was feeling today as it took on the idea of “We versus They.” See if any of these things sound familiar to you:
“What creates polarization is not the actual content of the issue on which a ‘family’ splits. It is rather emotional processes that foster conflict of wills (efforts to convert one another).”
“Unfortunately, today’s polarization is maintained by a bold competitiveness. The goal of conflict is to win. No thought is given to ‘we sink or swim together.’ Instead, one party swims and the other must sink.”
“Conflict is no longer a time for learning but for conquering. Domination supplants education. Civility and courtesy give way to sneers and shouting.”
“People function at the level of the primitive brain, breaking everything into this or that, black or white, plus or minus.”
“Behaviors become more aggressive–shouting down the opposite side, belittling them, using in-your-face tactics to intimidate…”
“Bogged down in a standoff, people are apt to use conflict as a way of carrying out a competition, rather than as education. The situation becomes increasingly negative and hostile.”
Steinke, Peter L. Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times: Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What
I don’t know about you, but I felt like the author was writing about the political and social climate we live in, rather than what happens in churches when there is conflict. These are the kinds of responses that I see happening all around me, and I am pretty sure that most of you could say the same.
When we dig in our heels and determine that we are right, no matter what, we essentially cut ourselves off from learning anything new, seeing anyone else’s point of view as valid, and ultimately from fostering relationships with anyone whose viewpoint differs from our own. And I’m gonna say it: that includes God.
“But,” you might say, “God is on my side!” WRONG! Regardless of what side you are on, it has nothing to do with what side God is on. In the Facebook thread I noted earlier, someone used this quote from Abraham Lincoln:
Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.
Abraham Lincoln
Now, on the internet you can find lots of quotes from lots of people and some of them are correctly attributed to their authors, and some are not, but regardless of whether or not this is actually something that Abraham Lincoln himself said, there is some striking truth to the statement. Shouldn’t we be looking for where God is at work and partnering with God there instead of assuming that we know what God’s stance is on this, that or the other? Shouldn’t our response to the issues that plague us today be to jump in and bring peace, justice and hope, rather than simply criticize the powers that be?
Now, there will be some that will say, “But that is what the Bible says,” about their pet issue, but guess what? Anyone can make the Bible say anything they want if they take it out of context. I am a lover of God’s Word, but one of the things I have learned is that you can’t take one verse or one idea and throw the rest out. You have to take the Bible, as a whole, and look at the overarching story of God’s plan and purposes for the world. You have to see through the eyes of Jesus and really consider how the qualities of God’s Kingdom look nothing like the qualities of this world. There comes a point at which I have to empty myself of all that I hold dear and let the Spirit of God fill me with love, mercy and grace so that I can truly live as a beloved child of God, bringing that love, mercy, and grace of God to all of God’s beloved children – whether they look like me, believe like me, or not.
In the grand scheme of things, what does more good for God’s Kingdom: railing against illegal immigrants or caring for foreign children who have been separated from their parents? being determined that no one is going to take away your guns or entering into meaningful action to help those who suffer from mental illness? This list could go on and on about the many issues at hand in our world, but the list isn’t the point. The point is, how do we, who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, God incarnate, live into that incarnation and embody Christ in every word and every act? How do we pick up our feet from where they have been grounded, and move into a place where we can hear one another, love one another, and act in ways that embody the values of God’s Kingdom? Isn’t it time to let go of what we think is right and take hold of what God knows is right?
Each morning as I rise, I sit in what I am calling my “Contemplative Corner” where I listen to uplifting music for a minimum of fifteen minutes before spending some time reading God’s Word, journaling and praying. This morning, I was particularly touched by this song that captures some of what I am saying today. Take a listen. Spend some time with God. And see where the motion of God’s mercy might take you today.
