Archive for category Commentary
I’m Not Thankful
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary, Encouragement on November 23, 2011
As we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S. the big question that will be asked around most dinner tables is “what are you thankful for?” We might go around in a circle and each person list one thing for which they are thankful. We might elaborate on special blessings, joyous occasions, or unexpected miracles that have happened during the last year.
But I’m willing to bet there won’t be one table in America that asks the question, “What are you NOT thankful for?”
You see, we tend to view life and it’s happenings in one of two categories, good and bad. There are good things that happen, like getting a job or recovering from an illness. And there are bad things that happen like losing a job or getting sick. We tend to be thankful for the things we consider to be in the “good” category. But those in the “bad” column? Not so much.
Truth be told, despite the lip service we give it on days like Thanksgiving, we’re not really thankful for everything. Just the good stuff.
My son Colin told me about an illustration he saw on the internet the other day, and I think it’s useful in making a point. Take a look at the glass on the left. Is it half-empty or is it half-full? Stay with me, this isn’t some lame optimist/pessimist exercise. Is it half-empty or half-full?
Actually, it’s a trick question because the glass is full. It’s always full. In this case, it’s half-full of water and half-full of air. Even a glass that we consider to be empty is still full of air. (Science geeks can take their discussion of vacuums elsewhere.)
Here’s the point: Ephesians 1 tells us that all things in heaven and earth are made one in Jesus Christ, and that He fills all in all. Hear that? All things, good and bad, up or down, are brought together in Christ and He fills them all.
The glass is always full in Christ.
So even the things on my “bad” list are good because they are in Christ. Even the things that bring us pain, the suffering, the lost job, the sickness, are filled by Christ. And we are never closer to Him, we are never more filled with Him than when we suffer. It’s the path of the true pilgrim, the lot of the sincere seeker.
Like the paradox that is the essence of the Christ experience, our “bad” list actually is our “good” list. He has brought them both together and made them one in Him. That’s why He so confidently tells us to “give thanks in everything.”
So this year, around the Thanksgiving table in our house, I’m going to be thanking God for the health problems I’ve been experiencing, because they’ve made me more dependent on Christ which is something I wrote about last week. I’ll be encouraging our family to think about things they wouldn’t necessarily associate with Thanksgiving. I’m going to make us think about the things we’d normally ignore, the things we wish would change, the things on our “bad” list.
Maybe, just maybe, instead of offering up the same tired answer to the same tired question, God will get glory as we begin to open up about the things that make us question God, the things that make us suffer, the things that make us say “Why?” And maybe He’ll get glory when we admit the things we haven’t really been so thankful for, and we let Him change us more into His image as we lay down our selfish notion that everything should always go well and we get thankful for the things that draw us closer and make us more dependent on Him.
This Thanksgiving I dare you, ask the question, “What are you NOT thankful for?”
Jesus Loves Jerry Sandusky
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary on November 18, 2011
It’s not just a shocking title to get you to read this post.
It’s probably not something very popular to say these days. The horrendous deeds of a sick man have rocked not only the Penn State football program, not only the sports world, but our entire culture. They have brought down a legend and challenged to the core the institutional idolatry of entertainment and sports so rampant in our culture.
But God loves Jerry Sandusky. Not just “kinda loves”. He deeply, passionately, completely, and eternally loves Jerry Sandusky. Thousands of years ago, when the world was without form and void, God new Jerry would fall into his trap of lust and darkness, and He moved heaven and earth to send His Son to die for Jerry. And when Jerry was in that shower stall (and who knows where else) God’s heart broke with love and compassion for Him, just as it does over his victims.
But I’ll tell you what’s most shocking to me about this whole tragedy is the reaction I’ve seen from most of my Christian friends. “Fry in hell” or some similar sentiment are words I’ve heard more than once, and those who didn’t say the words showed them on their faces. I’m not being self-righteous here, I’ve thought it too. We act as though we’d be happy to see Jerry Sandusky face eternal damnation for what He’s done. And while we’re at it, throw in all the other perverts, drunkards, and sinners!
Why?
What do we have to gain by Jerry frying in hell? Do you think that man hasn’t been living in hell every day of his life? Will the world suddenly be free from pedophiles if we hang Jerry in the public square? Or will it just make me feel better to see a sinner punished for his sin?
Guess what…I have skeletons in my closet too. And so do you. They might not rise to the level of Jerry’s, but I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t want them exposed publicly.
And guess what…God loves you just as passionately, deeply, unconditionally and eternally as he does Jerry Sandusky. He’s looked beyond your lust, my greed, our self-righteous pride and accepted us. Yet somehow we take pleasure in the fact that we’re not like the Jerry Sandusky’s of the world. We’re part of the secret club that gets a free pass. But not him…not after what he’s done.
I think we’re all a lot more like the brother in the Prodigal Son story than we’d like to believe. We’re the good kids, and it’s not fair that the rebels, sinners and losers are embraced by the Father just like we are. We’re angry that they get a ring and a feast when they finally come to their senses and come home. They get a free pass, and it’s not right, is it?
You can keep your accusations that I’m being soft on sin, or that I don’t care about the victims of his crimes. You and I both know that’s not true. It’s a horrible thing that’s happened, and lives have been ruined. But if you want to think that about me, then so be it. If you think I should burn in hell with Jerry, so be it. If you want to obfuscate the issue with doctrinal arguments or politics, so be it.
But I’ve made my choice.
And just like Jesus I’m casting my lot with the sinners, losers and those who deserve His love the least. I don’t know Jerry Sandusky, but I’m throwing open the door to him to experience the unconditional love and grace that can be found by falling on the mercy of a Jesus who died for people exactly like Jerry.
And while I’m at it, all the other prostitutes, pedophiles, porn addicts, adulterers and anyone else trapped in a darkness they feel like they can’t escape are welcome as well. Fall at the feet of Jesus and experience what apparently most of His people aren’t willing to offer…love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
There was once a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery, a sin punishable by death in Jesus’ day. The religious leaders seemed to have the same reaction most Christians have today: stone in hand, ready for action. And I seem to remember Jesus staring down her self-righteous accusers until, one by one, they walked away. Then Jesus said the same words He’s said to so many sinners since then…words that ring down through the ages to sinners like you and me and, yes, even Jerry Sandusky: “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
So Jerry Sandusky, I don’t care what they say, you can be forgiven. You can start over with a clean slate before God. Sure, you’ll have to bear the consequences of your actions, whatever they may have been. But you can be free of the guilt and shame and self-inflicted torture I’m sure you’re going through.
Even if nobody else does, Jesus loves you.
But What If…?
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary on October 6, 2011
Martin Luther dared to proclaim that God’s forgiveness for sins could not be purchased for money. He also declared God’s grace as the only source of 
forgiveness, the Bible as the only source of divinely revealed knowledge, and that all believers are a priesthood before Christ, not a select few. For these “heresies” he was excommunicated.
When Galileo suggested the radical notion that the earth was not the center of the solar system he was tried and found “vehemently suspect of heresy.” He was not excommunicated, but was required to “abjure, curse, and detest” his opinions and was placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life.
These actions seem silly as we look at them through the lens of our modern beliefs. The selling of indulgences seems to us to be as foolish as believing the earth is flat. But to the religious leaders of their day, the dangerous thoughts of liberals like Martin Luther and Galileo were a challenge to their belief system and a threat they could not endure.
What if beliefs we hold dear are just as silly?
I’m not saying they are. But what if they are? What if some future generation will look at ours with the same disbelief as we look back at Martin Luther or Galileo? Those who persecuted them had the same Bible we possess. What if, like then, our current understanding of the truth has been so clouded by our cultural, political and social prejudices that we cannot see any other way but ours?
Truth is real. It is absolute. It can be nothing less. The truth that the sun is the center of the solar system did not change because the church leaders considered it heresy. The truth is what it is, regardless of whether we acknowledge, believe, or follow it. The truth exists regardless of opposition by politicians or popes.
But truth is not the problem, we are.
What if we have believed and taught things that are based on our own understanding of the truth, but in reality are far from it? What if we have held others to standards they were never meant to follow? What if, like in the days of Luther and Galileo, our own politics, preconceptions and prejudices have tainted our understanding and caused us to refuse to accept an alternate reality. What if we are clinging to the earth being the center of the universe?
What if we have excommunicated others for less? I’m not talking about some official, church sanctioned excommunication. I’m talking about the millions who have been driven away from Christ by our lack of humility. I have said in a previous post that truth must be handled delicately and with humility, otherwise it becomes a weapon. Beliefs in the absence of love are dangerous things. Wars are fought over beliefs. People die when others become so defensive of their position that they feel the infidels must be eliminated.
The Apostle Paul recognized the danger of that arrogance when he said, “…though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” Love tempers us. It softens our actions. It creates a gentleness and patience with those who don’t believe as we do. Jesus did not say men would know we are His disciples because of our correct doctrine, but by our love.
The gospel frees us from the need to always be right. When I truly grasped the enormity of God’s grace shown to a worthless loser like me, it released me from my arrogant notion that it all depends on me. My right beliefs or correct doctrine don’t make God love me more than He already does.
Put down the pitchforks. I’m not telling you what you believe is wrong. I’m not demanding that you accept the sun as the center of the solar system. I’m just asking you to have enough of an open mind to consider the possibility that it might be.
Outdated and Irrelevant
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary, Encouragement, Uncategorized on October 4, 2011
Some think we are living in terrible times. I tend to think we are living in incredibly exciting times.
There can be no argument that things are changing around us. There is a societal shift happening that rivals some of the greatest cultural revolutions in history, as big as the invention of the printing press or the industrial revolution.
In America, we are in the midst of a transition to a post-industrial society. We no longer live in an assembly line world where the powerful few are in charge, while the masses show up, shut up, and do as they are told. Today’s world is an outsourced, work from home, iPod, unlimited choice, internet-driven culture where the individual is more in charge of their own destiny than ever before.
It’s a scary and exciting time.
Christianity was never meant to be anything else. Think about it: Jesus showed up on the scene challenging the authority and criticizing the top-down leadership of His day. He condemned the powerful few who swayed the masses through control and domination.
Through His death, Jesus released us from the need for the spiritual middle-man. He gave us direct access to God Himself. In an instant Jesus created a spiritual climate very similar to what we see going on culturally right now.
Yet the entirety of church history has been one long story of men trying to re-establish that control in the name of God. Popes and pulpits, denominations and doctrines all designed to tell God’s people what to do and how to do it, what to think and how to think it.
Jesus fought against it. The reformers fought against it. Brave warriors like William Tyndale and others gave their lives for it. For twenty centuries the battle has raged for the control of God’s people.
And for most of history we have played along. We have allowed others to tell us what to believe and what to think. We’ve been content to show up and shut up because it’s more comfortable that way. It’s easier to get spoon fed than it is to do the work of seeking God for ourselves.
But no more!
The world has changed, and as the church has failed to change with it we have become increasingly outdated and irrelevant. We are operating an old model in a new age. Factories are closing all around us, yet we are still operating church like it’s an assembly line. People are working from home or from Starbucks, yet we still want them to show up at a building at 9:00 on Sunday morning. We think they’re not interested in church, but the fact is they’re just tired of us trying to jam square pegs in round holes.
It’s time to let go of the control. It’s time to stop thinking of church as a top down institution, but rather a bottom up community. That’s the model taught by Jesus. Groups of believers coming together organically, directing their time and resources to doing the work of the kingdom instead of feeding the organizational beast. Yeah, not as many pastors earn salaries in the new model of church. When we all become the church, there might not be a need for a full time guy running the show.
Now is the time to win the battle once and for all. Christ’s coming was meant to be a radical shift in human consciousness. It’s a shift away from the control of the intermediaries between God and man. The curtain was torn. We are all face to face with the Father Himself.
If you have felt that something is not right, it’s for good reason. Things are not right. They are not even close to what God intended. I’m not suggesting that we change church to follow culture. I’m simply proposing that we get back to what it was intended to be all along.
It’s a shame it took 2,000 years and a cultural revolution to get us here.
Pat Robertson is not the problem
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary on September 17, 2011
Let me start by saying this: I believe Pat Robertson is wrong. I think his advice this week to a man whose wife is suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease is totally out of sync with the spirit of our wedding vows and the sacrificial love to which we are called as Christians. Should my wife ever contract this dreaded disease, it is not Mr. Robertson’s advice I will be following.
What I find interesting, however, is the marketing blitz the rest of Christendom has initiated in the few days since Pat’s remarks. I’ve seen op-ed’s, blogs, commentaries, television appearances and more designed to show the world that the rest of we Christians are “not like Pat.” We have criticized, excoriated, condemned and otherwise separated ourselves from Pat Robertson. We have done everything we can to make it clear that Pat does not speak for the rest of the Christian community.
But Pat Robertson is not the problem.
You see, I don’t think his comments this week made the world think any more badly of Christians than they already do. Pat’s comments didn’t ruin the image of Christianity in the eyes of the world. They just confirmed it.
I think the vast majority of the non-Christian community already thinks we are cold, uncaring, unloving, judgmental, and self-serving. They have seen us picketing and protesting, judging and condemning. They hear us tell homeless people to “get a job.” They notice when we build expensive buildings for our own comfort when we are surrounded by poverty and need. They hear us claim to be “pro-family”, and then have the same divorce rate as the general population. They hear us condemn the “God Hates Fags” mentality of Westboro Baptist Church, but have seen by our actions how we quietly agree with them. We are quick to criticize and moralize, but slow to offer solutions, and the world knows it.
They’re not stupid.
In short, the world has already observed that we often do not follow the simplest commands of the Jesus we claim to serve. He called us to serve the poor, we have ignored them. He called us to love unconditionally, we have protested. He called us to be the light of the world, instead we have become just like them. Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, we are more concerned with rules and law than we are about people who suffer.
Pat Robertson’s words this week didn’t cause that image, they just drove the nail deeper.
Yes, there are pockets of Christians following the commands of Christ. There are the stirrings of those who want to awaken from our slumber and get it right. But the church has an image problem. And Pat Robertson didn’t cause it, we did. I have caused it and you have caused it. By our actions or lack thereof, by the things we have done and left undone, we have brought reproach on the name of Christ. And until we all decide to die to self, follow Christ, and do His works, that image problem will continue.
The answer is to stop criticizing Pat and instead go love someone. Let’s stop politicizing and polarizing and go humbly serve the poor. Let’s stop trying to shape society and instead just follow Jesus. When Christians decide to simply live like Christ, society can’t help but be changed. If we had done this, then Pat’s comments would be nothing more than a blip on the radar. If the world saw more of Jesus, they would hear less of Pat Robertson.
Until we get to the root of the disease, no amount of criticizing the symptoms will make it better.
How much is enough?
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary, Encouragement on August 16, 2011
In 2 Timothy 4, Paul gave Timothy a warning about the church,
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up
for themselves teachers”
You don’t have to look very far to see that happening these days. Everywhere you look there is another book, another sermon, another song or message or article. We have become a people who are addicted to encouragement. In our fast paced society of the immediate, we become quickly bored with the familiar and are in constant search for something new and different. It’s like we are constantly hitting “check mail” on our spiritual inbox, hoping for the next big thing to hit and excite us.
A recent study by the World Health Organization revealed that those from the richer countries were more likely to suffer depression. Maybe our wealth and comfort have made us depressed, so we go searching for the next bit of good news, hoping it will lift our spirits.
The promise of “more” – more stuff, more money and more comfort – has left us with less.
We have less time, less connection, less happiness than ever. One of the things that hits me hardest when I visit developing nations is their joy. In spite of extreme poverty, they overflow with joy and love and generosity. I believe this is because they know what is important.
In our pursuit of more we have forsaken our time with God. We don’t pray that much and don’t study His word that much. We have lost communication with Him and with one another. And instead of getting our priorities straight and reordering our lives, we have simply let others do the work. We let the pastor study God’s word and bring the message on Sunday. “Just give me my 3 points to a better life.” We are just like the Israelites who saw the mountain burning and felt the earth tremble at the voice of Yahweh. “Moses, you go hear from God and come back and tell us what He says,” was their response.
Look, I’m not bashing anyone. I know life is hard and we all need help. And I’m not saying we don’t need pastors and encouragement. But the answers are not just around the corner in some new teaching. The answers to life’s problems are where they have always been found. They are in a deeper connection with Jesus and with each other.
You want 3 points? Here they are:
1. Spend whatever time with God you must. Reorder your life. Give some things up. Your idols have promised you happiness and left you empty. Only He can satisfy. So take the time to drink deeply of His water and let it quench your thirst. Other things will grow strangely dissatisfying when you taste of His goodness. Like the late missionary Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
2. Live in community with others. Our modern church culture has made it possible for us to show up on Sunday morning, do our duty, and never have to make ourselves vulnerable to others. Find a small community of believers and live life together. Depression can be the only alternative when we are cut off from others and left to fend for ourselves. You must be joined with others who know you, love you, challenge you, and accept you unconditionally. It’s out there. Don’t give up until you find it.
3. Stop searching for more. I think this is a big reason Christians in poverty seem to have so much joy in spite of their situation. They don’t expect more all the time. They have learned to be content, even in extreme poverty. They are thankful for what they have instead of always reaching for the “elusive next.” Be content. Be thankful. Rejoice in what God has already done in your life, and submit the rest to Him. He knows what is best, and your steps are ordered by Him.
These are just 3 points. They are not the only 3 points. They do not replace hearing directly from God about your life and your direction. I’m not bringing the stone tablets down from the mountain here. That’s your job. That’s the whole point. God wants to deal directly with you. You don’t have to go through a preacher, an author or any other middleman.
Are you willing to listen?
Planks and splinters
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary on August 11, 2011
I got a question from someone who read one of my recent posts called “I’m going AWOL.” I thought his question was a good one, it made me think a little and pray a lot about my answer. And I think it’s an important enough issue to answer his question publicly and give all the readers of this blog a chance to be in on the conversation. (By the way, he actually agrees with me, so I’m not “calling him out” publicly or anything.)
Here’s his question:
In the epistle to the Ephesians is written: “and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of the darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Ephesians 5:11 KJV) That “reprove them” could mean that we as God’s children are entitled and exhorted to confront the ungodly in his/her unrighteousness?
I gave him my short answer on the blog post, but here is the more complete answer. As always, I’d love to hear from anyone on your thoughts as well.
It’s the sin, not the sinner
The first thing that strikes me about this scripture in Ephesians is that it refers to the “unfruitful works of darkness,” not the “unfruitful workers of darkness.” The focus is on the sinful acts, not those who commit them. It seems to me, our focus these days is more on the sinners around us than the grace of God that has freed us from the bondage to sin. This idea of “taking a stand for God” has consumed us, and has only served to erect a wall between God and those who need Him most.
It’s me that has to change
The next thing about this scripture is that word “fellowship.” My study shows it would probably be better translated as “participate in.” This is an encouragement to believers not to participate in the works of darkness that are practiced by those in the world around them. “Don’t live like them, don’t behave like them. You have been redeemed by Christ, everything should have changed. Desires, focus, passions should be directed toward Christ and not pleasing yourself.”
This is not a fight
Then there’s that word “reprove.” Again, I think a better translation would be “expose.” I don’t think this is an invitation to do what we’ve done many times. It’s not
permission for us to fight and picket and protest those with whom we disagree. It’s not an encouragement for us to point our bony fingers of judgment at others. Rather, I think it is a challenge for us to live our lives in such a way that, by contrast, the works of darkness around us will be exposed for the evil they are. By doing so, we earn the right to speak into the lives of others. When we live lives ruled by love, not judgment, those around us become much more receptive to what we have to say.
The bottom line
Look, I know we are called to “come out from among them and do not touch the unclean thing.” But that command has nothing to do with “them”, it has everything to do with me. I do not have to shake my fist at the world. I just stop acting like them. I don’t have to point out the sin in those around me, that’s the Holy Spirit’s job.
The weapons of our warfare are not of this earth. Our enemy is not of this earth. Our battle is not with the sinners, the gays, the atheists or anyone else. We belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s a Kingdom that has no end. And it’s a Kingdom that aims to change me first. It’s a Kingdom that requires me to lay down my life, my dreams, and my hopes before its King. It requires me to start with my own planks, not their splinters.
The path of love is a slower, more deliberate pace. It’s a journey, not a sprint. It’s a lifestyle, not a marketing ploy. It takes commitment, patience, and…well…love.
If it is a battle, and we’re going to fight against the sin around us, I think love and mercy are much more effective weapons anyway.
Maybe that’s why Jesus used them.
Death to Jesus
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary on August 9, 2011
Jesus met a man on the Sabbath who needed healing. The Pharisees gathered around Him to see if He would dare violate their rules in order to have mercy on a poor, suffering soul. He looked with sadness at the hardness of their hearts, then healed the man. He dared.
“Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.” Mark 3:6
There are two institutions that are directly opposed to the work of Jesus and His kingdom: Religion and government. The kingdom of God is the most subversive movement in the history of mankind, because it stands as a threat to both.
Most of us know the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. These leaders were so immersed in their own religion, so intoxicated by their own power over others, that Jesus’ work was viewed by them as a direct threat. Why? Because He operated outside of the neat little box in which they had placed God. THEY were the experts in who God was and how He worked. THEY were the voice of right and wrong, based on their own interpretation of the rules. Jesus didn’t operate with deference to their authority. He healed on the Sabbath, spoke words of mercy to the sinners, and had the audacity to forgive sins.
Many of us may not know the Herodians. Little is know of this group, other than the fact that they were a religious sect and political party. It is thought that they used support of Herod as a means to usher in theocracy. Some scholars think they even presented Herod as the Messiah in order to establish his political power. Jesus’ pure teaching about the Kingdom of God would have stood in direct opposition to their political aspirations.
The Kingdom, it turns out, is a threat to just about everyone.
Those who operate in the Kingdom seek humility and not power. Those who live in the kingdom serve the poor instead of sucking up to the rich. Those who live in the Kingdom experience the freedom of the Spirit instead of the rules of religion. Those whose hearts are consumed by Jesus seek His glory and not their own. The Sermon on the Mount is the most religiously and politically revolutionary teaching in history because it places the Kingdom of God directly in my heart, and outside the influence of religion or political authority.
Both religion and politics are threatened by Christ’s teaching. But there is nothing more dangerous to the Kingdom than when the two combine together. There can only be one end to the mixing of politics and religion, and that is death to Jesus. Entanglement with religion, politics, or both simply chokes out the true work of Christ. And just like the Pharisees and Herodians, those who choose His Kingdom choose to operate outside the scope of either, and dissidents must be eliminated. In the early days of the church, these two groups joined forces to kill the followers of Jesus, just like they did Him. Jesus’ warning, “They hated Me and they will hate you too” turned out to be deadly accurate.
And so it is today.
Those who choose not to submit to religion are deemed troublemakers. Those who choose to ignore the political climate of the day are labeled as liberals. Those who seek the Kingdom instead of earthly power or wealth are viewed as irresponsible.
The problem with the world today will not be fixed by more religion or more law. It won’t be fixed by a political or Herodian messiah. And it certainly won’t be fixed by a mixture of the two. The problems that surround us will only be repaired when those who follow Christ understand that the Kingdom He established transcends religion, government, and any other contrivance of man. His Kingdom on earth is not established at His return. It was established at His resurrection, then turned over to His body the church to fill the whole earth.
How could a Kingdom whose sole commandment was to love on another become so filled with condemnation and judgment? How could a Kingdom whose sole duty is care for the poor so abdicate our calling? It is because we have forsaken that Kingdom for our own.
Until His people abandon the ways of religion and government in favor of the personal, simple, revolutionary life of the Kingdom, we’ll just see more of the same. And the church of Jesus Christ will continue its slide into irrelevance and contempt in the world around us.
I’m going AWOL
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary on July 29, 2011
In case you hadn’t heard, there is a culture war raging around us these days. Orthodox vs. Secular. Conservative vs. Progressive. Call it what you will, we see two distinct world views battling it out in the court of public opinion. And this culture war has tainted almost every area of our society: our news media, politics and, yes, Christianity.
There are certainly elements of the Christian world who feel it is their God-ordained duty to fight the culture war. They see America abandoning the “Christian
values” they believe have guided our nation since its inception, and are committed to fighting to preserve those values. They organize and protest, criticize and argue with those whom they feel are leading the nation astray. I say these words with great care, because for most of my life I have belonged to this group.
On the other side of the table are Christians who equally love God, yet equally fight the culture war in a different way. They too have a list of morals and ideals they see as eroding, and they blame the “religious right” for leading America down a path of destruction. Again, I say this with caution and respect, because I have good friends who fall into this group.
Sure, my descriptions are over-simplified and excessively broad. But they are sufficient for me to make my point. Actually, it’s more of a question (or series of questions.)
When did God ever call us to fight a culture war?
When did He ever ask us to defend Him to the world around us? When did God tell us to argue and protest and defend our position? When did He tell us to marginalize and demonize those with whom we disagree?
Even if we think they are ruining our culture and even if we are convinced the other side is destroying America, where did we ever get the idea that we were to engage in a culture war to defend our beliefs, morals, and traditions? Have we become so engulfed in politics that we cannot separate them from our faith in Christ?
And since when was Christianity ever intended to become a culture in the first place? It seems to me it happened about the same time the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion. Since that day Christianity has enjoyed a place of cultural and political power that has been relatively unchallenged. And even when questioned, it wielded enough influence to quickly eliminate its detractors. This marriage of politics and religion has been a long time in the making.
So here we are. The gospel of our Lord Jesus has been reduced to a series of rules and regulations. The good news of God’s grace on sinful man has been tarnished by our lack of grace for one another. The One who spent His whole life on earth criticizing religion has become the foundation of yet another religion. We fight and argue, criticize and divide. And we do it all in the name of the One who said, “they will know you are my disciples by your love.”
If there is any culture at all to Christianity, it is love.
If there is any moral ethic which we should strive to uphold, it is love. Mercy, grace, forgiveness…all can be summed up in that one word, love. Yet our culture war is the antithesis of love. It’s hard to love someone when you are telling them they are ruining the world. It’s hard to love someone when you constantly criticize their deeply held values. It’s hard for them to feel loved when they are always wrong and you are always right.
What have we gained? Have we really changed anything? It seems to me all we have accomplished is driving a wedge between God and those we think need Him most. Most people probably wouldn’t have a problem with Jesus if they didn’t feel so beaten down by His followers.
So I quit. I’m going AWOL. I’m resigning my post in the culture war. I will no longer fight against flesh and blood, doing battle with those who are not my enemies. If there is warfare to be waged, I will fight it in prayer. And I will love those with whom I disagree. I will be merciful to those who I think have gone astray. I will leave the culture up to the one who transcends nationality, creed, culture and tradition.
He is big enough to defend Himself anyway.
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Quitting Christianity 
Which One Are You?
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary on November 29, 2011
Taken as a whole, the teachings of Jesus are the most subversive, radical, counter-intuitive philosophy ever thrust upon the human condition. The statement “Love your enemies” alone could inspire many volumes as we seek to apply its weight and gravity to all areas of life and civic interaction.
The same could be said for Jesus’ parable known as “The Good Samaritan”
Most interesting to me is Jesus’ choice of characters. There’s the Priest and Levite, men known for their strict adherence to religious rule and ritual. Men who would have had more than sufficient means to take care of the injured man. Men who, had they understood the teachings of which they so proudly considered themselves experts, would have been compelled to stop. But they didn’t.
No explanation of why, no mention of prior engagements or work that was more important. They simply didn’t stop But Jesus took it one step further. Not only did they not stop, but they passed by on the other side of the road. They altered their path so as to avoid the suffering of the wounded man. They went out of their way to ignore him. It’s not simply that they didn’t stop, but that they knew they should stop and didn’t.
Then there’s the Samaritan.
That word “Samaritan” just doesn’t carry the emotional weight for us that it carried for those who heard it from Jesus’ lips. I don’t think Jesus could have chosen a more controversial protagonist for His story than a Samaritan. To say these people were hated would be a gross understatement.
There was a racial and religious hatred centuries old between the Jews and Samaritans, dating back to the Assyrian occupation of Israel during the 8th century BC. When the Assyrians conquered Israel, they settled conquered peoples from other lands in Samaria, Israel’s capitol. These pagans over the years intermarried with the native Jews left in Samaria, creating a race of what the Jews considered to be “half-breeds.” The hatred and antagonism was present when Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity. In fact, just thirty or so years prior to Jesus telling this story, Samaritans had entered the temple in Jerusalem during Passover and desecrated it by spreading human bones in the porches.
Jews hated Samaritans. They were racially impure, their food was considered as unclean as swine flesh, their religion was illegitimate. In fact, when the Pharisees could think of no greater insult to hurl at Jesus, they called Him a Samaritan. Even Jesus’ own followers couldn’t believe He was talking to the Samaritan “woman at the well.”
And so Jesus chose a Samaritan to stop and help the wounded man. A Samaritan showed compassion on a Jew. A Samaritan did what the “righteous” priest and Levite would not: he stopped and helped. He treated the man’s wounds, took him to a local inn and provided for his care and recovery. He promised to return and make sure the man had recovered and the bill was paid. He didn’t just stop and help, he committed himself to a man who hated him.
Jesus could have chosen anyone. It was His story. He could have made the man a fisherman, a commoner, even a leper. But He chose a Samaritan.
His meaning couldn’t be any clearer.
The Samaritan who stops is better than the Priest who doesn’t. The half-breed, unclean, reject who has mercy is better than the morally righteous person who doesn’t.
Jesus is clear in His teaching, and the essence of that teaching boils down to one word: love. And the outcast “sinner” who loves is, according to this parable, more a part of the Kingdom than those who appear to keep all the rules except one: to love.
There is no other rule in the Kingdom. Jesus said all the law and the prophets could be boiled down to love. So any rule or moral obligation that does not result in love is not scriptural. Any “religious” person who does not love is simply wearing a facade. He’s a fake. He who does not love is not a follower of Christ.
Everything is upside down in the Kingdom. The last become first. The poor become preferred. The rejects get moved to the front of the line. The sinner who deserves death gets life. And the “Samaritan” who stops and helps is better than the “Priest” who doesn’t.
Which one are you?
good samaritan, helping the poor, love, mercy, parable
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