I’m mindful of a scene from that famous trio of Godfather movie epics … the one in which a Catholic bishop marvels at the world of men. He uses a stone from a fountain to point out that the stone has been surrounded for years by water, yet when broken apart, he reveals the water has not penetrated into the center or heart of the stone. His lamentation: how can our world of men be surrounded for centuries by Christianity … yet, like the rock, our hearts have not been penetrated? But it’s not just “non-Christians.” Alas, it’s even worse … when we look at the numbers of men and women who have wrought havoc and death on other people in their belief of Christ. How can there be so many Christians whose hearts have not been penetrated?!
Jesus himself struck a similar tone when he says
“Are you still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man.” Matthew 15:16
For context, it’s good to note that Jesus says this after explaining to his disciples that we need to understand the differences between the traditions of our elders … often taught as commandments … and what is sin.
This is critically important. Money is not evil. It’s the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10)! If we are willing to put money above our fellow man or even God, that is evil. I once heard a minister point out how mistaken most Christians are about sex. Sex is not evil, in fact that’s the way God made us! He made us to be sexual beings – does God create evil – did he create us for an evil purpose? Surely not! It’s not sex or money that is evil … it’s how we use it. Do we use it to dominate or demean the other? To show power over the other?! Do we use sex to manipulate and control? Do we misrepresent our feelings to others in order to have a sexual encounter only to carelessly discard them afterwards? It’s the purpose and intent we have for it that matters! It is the purpose and intent in our heart that can make things evil … it’s how we use what God has given us (or not use it) that can be evil. Isn’t this true of just about everything? My car is not evil, but I can use to an evil purpose. The gun is not evil … I can use it to hunt and feed the hungry … or I can use it to gain power, money, or destroy another life. Drugs are not evil … I can use it for good to cure or relieve pain and suffering … or I can use for evil to gain power and money without remorse or care for the destruction it has on another, precious life granted by God that has become addicted.
Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment is and he responded
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39
But critically important, Jesus immediately says
“On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:40
If we loved our neighbor, we would not steal his car. If we cared for the other person, we would not lie to them or about them. If we loved God, we would not worship false idols or gods. If we loved our neighbor, we would help them in their time of need. If I loved my neighbor I would not hurt him by sleeping with his wife! If I pray only to look holy in front of other people … and not out of humility and love, then it is sin and in vain. It goes on and on. Suddenly, we can finally understand that the Bible is not a rule book … it’s a striking history of God repeatedly guiding, nurturing, and helping his children to love. So much so that he would sacrifice his own son! That is THE message. It is strikingly consistent throughout the Bible despite the wide variance in culture, tradition, and customs that are encapsulated within its history … that God wants us to be whole with him and that requires us to put aside the evil ways of hate, fear, and even worse, failure to treasure the life of our fellow human beings.
Ok, so why this post? I was struck today when I read a recent quote about gay marriage by Pat Robertson … on his 700 Club. He claims that every nation that “embraced this lifestyle” has gone down in the trash heap of history. He says this in response to President Obama granting health benefits to the partners of gay government employees. Has Satan so blinded this man’s heart with fear and hate that he would withhold medical treatment from those in need? Of course Pat Robertson’s argument is nonsensical since every nation in history has actually gone down in ruin … eventually. But that is really besides the point … I am greatly concerned that so many who profess to be Christians fail to heed our Lord Jesus’ words in Matthew 15. They teach their personal views and traditions as if they are the commandments of God … and they lead God’s people astray.
It’s very common to hear those against gay marriage to say it’s one man and one woman and it’s always been that way according to God. Really?! Although I could be wrong, I’m not aware of any scripture saying that King David or King Solomon were sinning by having more than one wife. The only scripture I’m aware of is for the qualifications of a bishop … that a bishop should be married to only one wife. But we also know that the Apostle Paul even is bold enough to say we shouldn’t marry at all (1 Corinthians 7:8-9)! So we must be careful to not mistake tradition or advice as if it were God’s law. But what is sin? Are we still without understanding that sin is the failure to love others and God over ourselves … it’s the intentions of our heart that defiles us?
So if there is love, let there be love. We know that Jonathon and King David loved each other more than they loved women (2 Samuel 1:26). Let’s treat others as we wish to be treated. Let’s finally understand what its all about.
What if humans were to write the story of the arrival of a god? Particularly in ancient times before the influence of Jesus Christ and his followers. How would we write the story? History and literature through the ages, including our current day movies and books, give us some insights into this and illuminate a critical element of what Christianity is really supposed to be about.
How about something big and splashy … like a triumphal entry accompanied by a huge host of slaves or commanding soldiers. It makes me think about the scene from the 1963 movie when Cleopatra enters Rome. Because really, really important people must demonstrate their power and receive the worship of the crowd. They command respect and if they don’t get it then they’ll take vengeance on any person audacious enough to not bend a knee.
How about a display of awesome cosmic power … such as destroying a city, destroying an army, hurling lightning bolts, or bringing a rain of fire from the heavens? Like that scene from Star Wars when Darth Vader magically suspends a man and chokes him. Something to immediately prove not only that he or she is a god, but to quickly communicate supremacy so that resistance if futile.
What would we expect this god to do? We expect gods to rule. Egypt, Rome (under the Imperial Cults), and other ancient cultures often considered their kings to be divine… gods themselves. Various Jewish sects established a messianic tradition, with the common expectation that the messiah would liberate them from Roman rule. What about gods that don’t rule? Well, they’re still worshiped and served by a dutiful following, and at a minimum they live a life of luxury in places like Mount Olympus.
And their relationship with humans? Of course humans live only to serve the gods. A god is certainly at liberty to meddle with and destroy the life and happiness of humans who don’t worship him or her … and to reward those who do … even though we recognize such rewards and punishments seem rather random and inconsistently applied.
Christ was none of this. In fact, he’s the antithesis of what humans would think of in terms of a “god”. The very nature of this difference reveals one of the central tenets of being a true christian … the servant life.
“Then he came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?’ But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And he sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.’” Mark 9:33-35
The story of Christ”s life is a compelling case of living those very words.
- Not born to royal parents, but born to parents of meager means, perhaps even indentured servants.
- Not born in a palace, not even a house, but homeless and in a manger.
- Going from town to town, healing the sick without judgment or conditions.
- Teaching God’s word to all who would hear, not just those who are rich, give large contributions … even regardless of whether they believe or should be considered “deserving.”
Even in death, Christ was a servant. The ultimate sacrifice is to give one’s life for someone else, especially if it is not your next of kin. How much more so if you give your life for those who don’t deserve to be saved? Yet that is indeed what Christ has done. Christ died for our sins. Undeserving and blameless, he was the lamb lead to the slaughter to bear our iniquities as prophesied in Isaiah 53:4-12. So, in spite of what the prophesies said to expect, the generations of people before and after Christ waited for a messiah with the expectation that he would be man’s concept of a god … not God’s concept. And alas, as prophesied, he would be rejected by most of his own people (Psalm 118:22-23). Truly the prophet Isaiah records for us:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” Isaiah 55:8
Christ did indeed do things to prove he was the son of God. Awesome displays of cosmic power? Yes, but none of it destructive or self-enriching. Ever the servant … he healed people. He arose from the dead … only a “god” could do that. Clearly the human perspective of greatness is in stark contrast to God’s. He expects us to put on the cross of servitude. It is indeed a difficult cross to bear. Certainly I am a worst offender. It is so difficult to put the needs of others, including the needs of God, above our own needs, wants, and fears. We do things when it is in our own interests and usually with the expectation that a favor will be repaid for a later favor. How often are we the good samaritan who does something for a total stranger with no expectation of reward? Instead of writing checks that can be tax deductions, how often do we invest our personal interest and time in someone else who is in need?
