Posts Tagged hypocrisy
Legally Blind
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge on September 13, 2011
In Luke 13 Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. He noticed a woman in the room who was bent over and could not straighten herself up, an ailment from which she had suffered for eighteen years. Jesus immediately had compassion on this precious woman, laid hands on her and said, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” In an instant, her crippled and broken body became whole.
A great miracle, right?
But instead of rejoicing, the ruler of the synagogue became indignant, because Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath. He said to the crowd that had gathered, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” His words reeked with cold-hearted judgment. Can’t you just feel his condescension and arrogance? This leader of the synagogue cared more about the technicalities of his legalistic system than he did about a woman who had suffered for eighteen years.
This is but one confrontation of many Jesus had with the Pharisees regarding healing the sick on the Sabbath. And to me, this is the essence of what it means to be a Pharisee. The leader looked right past a woman who had spent almost two decades in pain, blinded by his need to be right.
How often do we do the same?
Just like the Pharisee that day, the church has allowed our need to uphold the law to leave us indifferent to the needs of people. How often have we focused on the sin, instead of the person? How often have we been so concerned with our own sense of right and wrong that we have ignored the suffering of an individual? How often have we also been blinded by our need to be right and our need to win?
The Pharisee saw a Sabbath, Jesus saw a precious woman who needed to be released from her pain. The Pharisee saw a law that was broken, Jesus saw a woman who was broken. The Pharisee saw the letter of the law, Jesus saw its heart.
It’s a matter of focus
All too often we focus on the sin and forget the person behind it. We condemn the abominable act and ignore the person who has struggled with feelings they cannot just ignore. We are indignant against the addiction and look past the suffering of a precious soul locked in a prison he cannot escape. We judge the behavior of the poor, never stopping to examine the dehumanizing effects of poverty.
Are we so blinded by our need to condemn sin that we forget who we are condemning? We are condemning people. It’s easy to pass judgment on a group. We can dismissively write people off when they are part of the faceless “them.” But what about individual people with hearts and feelings? We have fought political battles and drawn lines in the sand. We have created a culture of “us” against “them.” We have polarized ourselves into groups and separated ourselves from the ones who need His mercy the most.
Jesus didn’t see groups, He saw people. He didn’t condemn “adulterers,” instead He showed mercy to a woman who had been caught in the act. He didn’t dismiss “Sabbath violators,” he simply healed a woman who had suffered for eighteen years. He didn’t ignore a thief on the cross, but even in death had compassion on a repentant soul.
We are called to love
I think many feel to simply love another without judgment somehow makes them guilty of approving of the person’s sin. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The fact is, they are sinning against God, not us. And He is more than able to hold them accountable for their actions. When they stand before their maker, they will have no excuse. Besides, Jesus was accused of being easy on sin as well.
We seem to feel the need to confront evil. So did Jesus. He confronted the evil of arrogant, hypocritical condemnation and judgment. He confronted the Pharisees and the evil of their adherence to law at the expense of mercy. He regularly confronted those who placed their own need to be right ahead of the needs of others to be healed.
Jesus called us, by His words and actions, to love the sinner and have compassion on the outcast. There were no qualifications. There were no conditions. Mercy trumps judgment. Grace overcomes condemnation. Jesus heals, no matter what the law says.
The Pharisee sees sinners in need of judgment. Jesus sees sinners in need of redemption.
Quitting Christianity 
Pat Robertson is not the problem
Posted by Dave Kirby in Challenge, Commentary on September 17, 2011
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.
alzheimer's, Christianity, hypocrisy, Pat Robertson, wedding vows, Westboro Baptist Chruch
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