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Moral High Ground
please consider this in your own lives. this is something so so simple but i find it very difficult to see actually being lived out by many in our Christian communities. i definitely felt challenged by it, and encourage you - no, i beg you to keep me accountable for that.
posted by laureneh at 11:58 a.m.
6 Comments:
That's why I have never thought fighting gay marriage is important. When I can pick one issue to fight for, it won't be a political definition. That's not important when people are suffering elsewhere. We like to tell other people what they can and can't do in their lives, even when it makes no difference to our own.
However that isn't even the point. The main point is this: why do we always seem to fight AGAINST PEOPLE? I don't know whether these people are right or not, but what gives me permission to judge that? We ARE always to have opinions, and we ARE allowed to share them, but unless we build relationships, nobody wants to hear them.
Christians are often like telemarketers. We are just out to sell things and we pick the worst times to try.
What does that all mean? I don't know, but I do know that if a friend suggests a product, I'll be more likely to say yes (not that Christ is a product).
Christ purposely avoided many big issues of his time for these reasons. Before you have a right to debate you must examine your own heart.
Tue Nov 28, 04:31:00 p.m.
Sorry, a little bit more. What I listed above is simply a common example. I enjoy that post and thanks Lauren.
For one of my classes I had to read "Blue Like Jazz" by Don Miller. It's a really good book by the way (and if anyone hasn't read it and would like to, I have a copy). He talks about this and how our highest calling is to love people. Higher than evangelism or discipleship.
What does that mean for those little times in life, when someone gets your order wrong, when friends get on your nerves, when someone you work with is an idiot, even with your significant other?
Tue Nov 28, 04:39:00 p.m.
Your parents told you not to lie, not to steal, not to touch the stove because it was hot, and not to cross the street before looking both ways. All rules set in place for the sake of you and those around you.
I totally agree with what you said and what your friend said, but I struggle (and evidently most churches do as well) with the fine line between loving and permission. We've got Falwell on one end and the Anglicans on the other, neither are right. We are told to love people, and this we must, but this includes (when the rule and rules of God are acknowledged by an individual to be relevent to their life) telling them about the stove.
I don't care if it is a chronic liar, a thief, a drug addict, an abuser, or a murderer. Until they understand and accept God's rule and rules, telling them that they are wrong is useless. But, similarly, once they have made that choice, we must speak up if a behaviour is contrary to God's will (as is our duty with all of our brothers and sisters).
What does this look like in real life? I dunno.
Tue Nov 28, 05:04:00 p.m.
Can I interject in response? I wrote the post Lauren linked to, but it was a friend of mine's post that inspired my thoughts. You'll find a link to his post in mine.
When the young man he talked to asked him to read a scripture, my friend read him the passage out of Romans 1 condeming sexual immorality. It's all in the way you approach the person.
So, yes, my aunt is a lesbian. Do I still love her, yes? Have we ever had a conversation about this? No. We don't live in the same country, I see her once every five or six years. There isn't opportunity. Would I be willing to chat with her about my feelings on gay marriage? Yes. Do I have really strongly defined black and white opinions, yes and no.
So, yes, it is hard to play out in real life. Real life has gray areas that aren't as present in hypotheticals...
Like I said in my original post, it all comes down to the question, "Do I care more about the person than I do about what I perceive as their failings or, to use a more blunt word, their sin?" If I don't care more about the person, than I need to correct my attitude to reflect that of Christ.
Tue Nov 28, 10:36:00 p.m.
I think what I love most about focusing on people rather than their sin, is that we are sinners too. I feel that our generation is realizing that we cannot preach or evangelize to people while we are tearing them down. We all know we are sinners, and have sinful tendencies, and I will be the first to admit to my co-workers that I don't have everything figured out, and that I'm not perfect. Christians have accepted that they are not perfect, as it's impossible to be, but I think some tend to think they are still above everyone else. My sins are no worse in God's eyes than someone who has committed sex-crimes with an underage child. While I will stand by the Bible strongly, I will be the last person to shove anything from it down someone's throat. I will only try and point things out if people want me to. Especially in our culture, most people (if not everyone) know what the Bible stands for (at least for the more major issues like homosexuality). To tell someone that they are living in sin is not helpful.
I agree with everything said here, and thank you Lauren for pointing us to these posts.
Tue Nov 28, 11:19:00 p.m.
I totally agree with everyone's points. selling Christ doesn't work-- loving like christ does. Isn't Jesus appealing already? Why then do we try using "marketing" strategies. It probably looks no better than an infomercial. However, loving as chirst did may sometimes means telling people what they don't want to hear. Being a wallflower is just as bad. Apathy is a spiritual killer.
Wed Nov 29, 10:45:00 a.m.
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