Labels, labels, labels. Each one of us has a label attached to our foreheads!
Liberals, conservatives, believers, non-believers, Jews, gentiles, blacks, whites, Latinos, gay, straight - the list goes on and on. I don't quite understand why we label, but we do and for most of human civilization, we have. It's how we identify one another - whether we like it or not. Sometimes the labels are appropriate (and accurate), sometimes not.
Frankly, I don't care for labels. Not on my clothes (unless they display my company logo) and definitely not on people. My problem is that I do in fact label people. It's not right, and I apologize for labeling any of you.
The only One who should be labeling any of us is God. He's the only One who can label us fairly and accurately - and lovingly. And we remember that God's love is nothing like ours; it's not squishy but it is true and just.
Sorry for appearing a bit verbose or squirrely, but there is a reason for all of this set up. I better get to it!
I, like many of you, have several dear and close friends on Facebook and other social media, who let's say, have very differing opinions compared to mine. I love them dearly, but we choose to agree to disagree especially when it comes to matters of current cultural and social issues.
Recently, a dear friend posted on my timeline an article and website that is written and supported by "Christians" who have Biblical support for abortion. When I saw it, I put aside several minutes to look through the article and then through a few key areas of the website to hopefully better understand not only the context of their beliefs but their justification and reasoning. It's not that their arguments weren't poignant or heartfelt - they were - but there was something else that caused me to stop and think. More importantly, I had to go back to God's Word, the Bible, to prayerfully consider how to justify this rationalization.
A couple of generalizations
Before I really get into this, I'm going to make a couple of statements that are truly broad-brush. If you're offended, I'm sorry, but get over it, and as God said in Isaiah 1:18, "come now, let us reason together..."
Statement number one: Oftentimes, we who are of a more conservative bent are too "rigid"; we read and understand things plainly and in black and white terms. It's not that we're devoid of heartfelt emotions, but we don't lead with our heart; we tend to engage our minds first which can appear "heartless". Like Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame, logic and reason are sometimes cold, but true friends. Logic and reason sometimes (well, maybe more than sometimes) need to be tempered by positive emotions and feelings. Yes we do "care", but... or and... we look for perspective and context and reasonableness before emotion.
Statement number two: Oftentimes, those who are of a more liberal bent are too "emotional"; you folks - God love you - lead with your heart and emotions. You look for the good in people and circumstances while trying to make everyone happy or "feel good" about themselves and the decisions that are made. Temporal or temporary happiness is paramount. Reason and logic may have their respective places, but emotions tend to rule (and sometimes overrule) the thought process. The liberal demand for fairness and equality are somewhat "utopian" and cannot be realized, people become frustrated and further reason is pushed aside.
Believe it or not, there is in reality great agreement between these two. And yet there is great disagreement as well! Let me demonstrate - this is the Mission Statement of the Christian Left: "To follow Jesus by taking actions on behalf of the oppressed, the sick, the hungry, the poor, the incarcerated, the lonely, the disabled, the mentally ill, the mistreated, the war-torn and the weak." theChristianLeft.org.
As someone from the Christian "Right", I have absolutely no problem with that statement; none whatsoever. That is the work that our Lord called each of His children to do. What's not to agree with that statement of caring for our fellow men and women? What's not to agree about "loving" our fellow human being?
The question, I think, is "how" do we love? Is love or loving someone simply an emotion that accepts everything that they do - don't confuse this with loving someone just for who they are, created by God and bearing His image - without regard for any harm that might be caused to themselves, others or even to the character of God? In twenty first century vernacular, "love" is unfortunately left as a squishy emotion. We forget (possibly intentionally) that love also corrects wrongs, rebukes falsehoods and at times purposefully sets up guardrails in order to protect others. In other words, love is not just about saying "yes" to everything (thought, feeling, word, deed), love is also about saying "no" - and sometimes even "hell no!". Love is about integrity and doing what's right. Love is about motives and motivation.
The "mark" of the Christian
The defining mark of the Christian is love. The apostle John, the one who Jesus loved, writes a lot about love not only in his Gospel account, but also in his three epistles, 1 John, 2 John and 3 John. But that's not all he writes about. John also writes about light, truth and life, especially in 1 John. From what I can figure out, when you fully combine love, truth and light, you get life - real life; abundant life.
The world (the non Christian or unbeliever) - by contrast - proclaims truth and light and love leading to abundant life, but this is a very different, non-biblical, "dead" life. In today's post-Christian culture, truth is relevant: the idea of "what's true for you may or may not be true for me". No, truth is truth. Something is either true or it is false. You can't have it both ways. God's truth is not dogmatic; it is truth. By the same token, the world's view of being "light" in a dark world wants to pick and choose what to expose as "evil". In fact, that's part of the problem with the Christian left: it wants to cherry pick. The longer I am a Christian, reading and studying the Bible daily, the more I KNOW that God is completely consistent from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. God exposes the light (and therefore the truth) on everything equally and without bias. When we understand God's complete sovereignty over all of creation (that includes my life and your life), we understand that we are subject to HIS rules; we are created in HIS image, God is not created in MY image (the great mistake the world makes).
The world's idea of love is, as I've already stated, typically emotional and sentimental. The world (the Christian left) wants to power this worldly love without the guardrails that God gave us for living life in this world. In other words, it doesn't want to use the word, "NO", when called for.
A God-balanced, abundant life full of love, truth and light is a wonderful, beautiful thing. But this life is also to be God-focused and God-centered, not just God-balanced. We understand this because if we truly believe and truly follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He has given or provided this understanding; it is a Godly understanding (or we can also substitute the word wisdom). The apostle John puts it this way, "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." 1 John 5:20. Godly wisdom (understanding) takes knowledge and emotion and motivation and tempers all of it.
The world, by and large "likes" Jesus. It believes that He was a good teacher and righteous man; He was someone to be followed and imitated. But there are also a lot of things that the world hates about Jesus. First and foremost, the world hates that Jesus is God incarnate. The idea (fact) that Jesus truthfully proclaims that He is the ONLY way to eternal life, really bugs a lot of people. A good and moral teacher is one thing, calling yourself God is quite another. Just behind that, the world doesn't like Jesus calling out personal sin. Sin is a personal thing. Each of us struggle with it in our own ways and in the end, that's how God judges and ultimately rewards or punishes us: it's on an individual basis. There is no corporate salvation. We come to the Cross as individuals for our personal sinful lives. The so-called progressive "collective" or "collectivist" thinking is not how God operates. Each of us is individually responsible for our eternal soul.
The one Bible passage that keeps my attention as I live my life (hopefully in right relationship to God) is this (Jesus speaking): “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" Matthew 7:21-23.
To be honest, that short passage (and others like it) scares the hell out of me! With Jesus, it's not enough to be a fan, He asks us to be a TRUE follower. We are to die to ourselves. We are to crucify our lives and freely allow Him to live in us (see Galatians 2:20). Not to belabor the point, but being a Christian is a choice, He doesn't make us believe or even worship Him. Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts (Revelation 3:20), He doesn't necessarily barge into our lives to take command (although He has had to do that on more than one occasion). It is our job to believe what He did for us (died for our sins), accept Him for Who He is (our Creator and Sovereign God of the Universe), and fully obey Him for no reason other than love.
Words and actions
Let me quickly illustrate it this way: If I say that I'm a Christian, but my actions don't match my words, then what's the truth? If I'm putting a good sum of money in the plate week after week, but that money comes from my cheating or stealing, am I a true follower? Likewise, if I'm serving in the soup kitchen week after week, but also dragging my sorry butt from every local bar with a different "partner" each time, am I a true follower?
I sort of feel as if I've gotten off topic, but I need to just lay down one further idea before I hit the meat of this discussion. As I mentioned earlier, Jesus is God. Jesus is also the Word of God. He is the Word who became flesh and "dwelt among us." John 1:14. Jesus' claim of Deity is not only profound, it is also condemning; especially to a world that would rather live without rules or guardrails or the word "NO". The Christian left "likes" Jesus and most of the New Testament; it likes His loving and caring. But the Christian left (I believe) doesn't like the Old Testament. It doesn't like the strict rules for living and the killing and the sacrificing and the so-called "brutality" of a God of wrath and judgement and punishment.
We look for "liberation" from strict laws and commandments. We want "freedom in Christ" (Galatians 5:1), but with our rules. Our human nature wants to have what we want when we want it. And when we can't get those things, we cherry pick the Bible and read and choose and follow what WE like. But what did Jesus say? He was very clear about the Old Testament and in particular the Ten Commandments. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. [In other words the Old Testament still counts.] Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees [the really religious people of His day] and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17-21.
Jesus calls the believer to righteous living. He calls us (and God the Father in the Old Testament) to live "holy" lives. Frankly, that's impossible. God knows that we can't live fully holy lives on our own strength. That's the reason why Jesus suffered and died on a Roman cross as an atoning sacrifice for your sins and my sins. And because His sacrifice satisfied the Father, Jesus was raised from the dead. When I (you) believe that Jesus died for ME (YOU), and accept His death for mine, and I submit my life to His, I have eternal life. Any other way is impossible.
But back to the Christian left and our topic.
The rallying cries of the Christian left
Poverty, homosexuality and abortion. Those are three heavy topics that we deal with on an almost daily basis in today's society and culture. And particularly in the past several years we are witnessing a full fledged push by the left and progressives to "transform" what we have previously understood our culture and society to look like. We are truly becoming post-Christian.
Because setting a foundation for this discussion has taken more words and space than I originally envisioned, I'll present very brief synopses of these three topics in this article and provide links for deeper, more full discussions of them.
Poverty. This is the one area that the Christian left raises that I would venture to participate with - at least to a point. Poverty is everywhere. Poverty occurs for a variety of reasons, both natural and man made. Poverty is not only a destroyer of individual persons, but it is also a destroyer of society and culture. For decades, and even centuries, there have been calls to rid our planet of this scourge via many avenues and by many well meaning people.
When we think of poverty, I believe most of us think of the homeless and hungry and needy. Keep in mind that all of these terms are relatively relative. The "poor" of the United States of America is a wealthy person - comparatively speaking - when measured against the poor of Asia or Africa. Loosely paraphrasing the singer Bono of U2 fame, poverty is determined by a persons latitude. He's right; that's a proper observation. The "wealthy" of the world tend to live outside of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The poor are concentrated within those global markers; that's where the poorest countries of the world are located.
Now that we have a partial understanding of at least where the poor are, let's briefly look at how God has required us to care for them. In the Old Testament, God was very specific as to how to treat them. God often reminded the Israelites that they were once poor and enslaved themselves (remembering where we came from is always important; for example 2 Kings 17:35-37). One way was to not completely harvest the fields, vineyards and orchards. The landowners and their workers were to purposely leave grain, grapes and fruit for the poor to be able to come and harvest themselves. They would be able to take what their hands and baskets could carry without fee or recompense. We read:
"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:9-10.
In the New Testament, we read of Jesus speaking to the wealthy young ruler about inheriting eternal life. Jesus tells him: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21. Jesus gave the young man a choice: follow Me or stay with your wealth. Jesus did not "make" the young man give up his wealth and possessions, He gave him a choice. God gives us a choice of what to do with the possessions He has provided to us. We are to act according to our convictions, not out of compulsion whether Divine or human (the human idea of "fairness"). We'll look at this idea in greater depth in another post.
A final point I want to make in dealing with the poor and poverty is this: Jesus was very specific about what really and truly mattered in this life. What really and truly matters in this life is a relationship with Jesus. Here's the passage which puts Jesus words and sentiment in its correct context; may we understand and heed what He says:
"While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
"Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, 'Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.' And they rebuked her harshly.
"'Leave her alone,' said Jesus. 'Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. [emphasis mine] But you will not always have me. She did what she could.'" Mark 14:3-8.
Yes, that nard could have been sold and its proceeds used to help the poor, but having a loving relationship with Jesus FIRST allows you to take another flask of pure nard, sell it and if you choose and are lead by God, give the money to the poor and needy. God's Spirit will cause you to do what is right for you, your possessions and your circumstances. It is a matter of the heart and being properly tuned in to God's plans and purposes for your life.
Click here for a more in-depth discussion of this topic of Poverty.
Abortion. Frankly, the article providing a "biblical approval" for abortion just doesn't make any sense. What the article did present (in my opinion) were defenses or excuses to side with abortion. But using logic and reason, these arguments collapse on themselves.
For example, the argument that the "fetus" (notice that this term is used throughout the article rather than "unborn baby") isn't a living human until it breathes its first breath. Well then, what about the baby's heartbeat? How do we understand God's statement that "there is life in the blood"? (Leviticus 17:11) What about the baby's properly formed fingers and toes at only 10 weeks gestation? I don't mean to sound petty but, what else is this fetus or embryo going to be except a human being, created in God's image?
The baby is living and developing while inside its mother's womb. It is a separate entity, separate yet completely dependent on its mother for care and nourishment. This life is also attentive to the outside world. There are plenty of scientific anecdotes and observations of the unborn baby reacting to music, its mother's voice and diet and yes, even the approach of the abortionist's instruments of vivisection. The unborn baby feels pain (see the video "Silent Scream").
Since Roe vs. Wade, we in the United States have killed off a generation of people. Over 50,000,000 (50 million) men and women have died (been put to death) for nothing more than expediency's sake. Abortion has become a form of birth control and nothing more. Abortion is callous and degrading to women. The Christian left says, "well, there are extenuating circumstances like rape or incest". Okay, but those circumstances (about 1 or 2 per cent of all pregnancies) and their consequences condemn an innocent, unborn child to death. The unborn had nothing to do with the incident; yet it is being condemned to death.
As a father of three adopted children, I can tell you that there are NO unwanted children. There are hundreds of thousands of couples like my wife and I who desperately want and would gladly take any of these "unwanted" babies.
Again, as we deal with poverty, dealing with the issue of abortion is a matter of the heart. Is abortion truly right? In my opinion, abortion is nothing more than premeditated murder of an innocent life for expediency's sake. In the follow up article, we'll also look at the devastating effects of declining birthrates and the idea that women want to "have it all" and what society has and is actually sacrificing on the altar of self. In the follow up article, I will also relate a personal story about abortion that has bothered me for over 30 years.
Homosexuality. "Men and women should be able to choose their own partners." Okay, and yes we can. God has provided all of us with "freedom of choice". The Gay community has recently become very vocal in its call for "rights", whether in marriage or adoption, societal, etc. Homosexuality is a human issue that we have dealt with for millenia. And now today we deal with the various forms of it: Gay (male homosexuals), Lesbian (female homosexuals), Bisexuals (self explanatory) and more recently, Transsexuals (those who have surgically "changed" themselves from one sex to the other). That's what LGBT means. I'm not gay-bashing, I'm simply laying out the facts.
Let's be brutally honest about a couple of things. First, many people, male and female, struggle not only with who they are, but what they are. We live in a society that says men and women are supposed to be a certain way. If they are the least bit "effeminate", they are unjustly pegged as gay or worse. Just because a guy likes cooking, flower gardening and poetry doesn't make him gay. By the same token, women are to be curvaceous and naturally enjoy cooking, flower gardening and poetry, yet if she prefers swinging a hammer or changing a car's oil, that doesn't make her butch or a lesbian. We've taken these labels to extremes!
Second, each of us is who he or she is. Period. The person who doesn't like being a guy and cross-dresses or gal who does whatever she can to become more manly, has refused to understand who they are. The idea that we can literally "change" who we are is utter depravity and foolishness. Sure, you can have a sex change operation, but guess what? You've got to continually take hormones and medication to prevent the body from reverting back to its naturally created state. We don't have the knowledge (yet) to change our DNA. What science DOES demonstrate is that when you go against the natural way God created you, you will suffer consequences. For a case in point read about the medical history of Chaz (originally Chastity) Bono. It's sad, but he (she) has chosen to shake his fist at God and say in his heart, "God, you made a mistake about me." The fact of the matter is, God offers Chaz love and forgiveness if he chooses to repent and turn to Him.
The bottom line is that God created us to be who we are; created in His image, designed for His purposes in this life, not ours. Homosexuality and the gay lifestyle (all illicit activity) has its consequences. Once we choose to deny how God created us to be and run our lives in a way that only dishonors him, but shakes our fists in His face in utter defiance, things will go terribly wrong.
Paul writing to the Romans makes it very clear:
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
"Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
"Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." Romans 1:18-32.
As I said earlier, the Christian Left likes to cherry pick what they want to like out of the Bible. What does the Christian Left have to say about Bible passages like the one above? What do they do with it? Either God's Word is entirely True and Applicable, or it's not. Granted, we are living in the "Age of Grace", but again, as Jesus said, He didn't come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.
Living a homosexual or gay lifestyle is a choice. Like abortion and dealing with poverty, it is a matter of the heart. Our job as a believer is to be a watchman to our neighbor. If we see them sinning or falling into sin, we are to alert them of the danger of their sin so that they may repent (see Ezekiel 18). If they do repent and turn to God, they will be saved and we will have done our job. If the sinner chooses not to repent and turn to God, they will not be saved and we will have still done our job. Calling out sin isn't judging another person or their lifestyle. Calling out sin is an act of love.
Some closing thoughts
We choose to live according to God's will for our lives or we don't.
Some of us are born into desperate poverty, others into fabulous wealth. The poor are not to look upon the wealthy with lust or greed wanting something they don't have, nor are the wealthy to look upon the poor and down trodden with disdain. The poor should accept their lot or position that GOD placed them in with the understanding that God has also provided them with certain opportunities to escape that life. The "fairness" that God provides is the opportunity to do something more with what He has provided, seeking His glory first.
On the other end of the spectrum, God has provided the wealthy and able among us the wherewithal to minister to the poor and needy. The wealthy are to "want" to do good. We do good out of wanting to please and honor God. When we that "have" provide in part to those who don't have, God provides more in order that we may continue doing good. We truly become God's "hands and feet" to a needy world. But it's God first.
Many things in life are "unplanned". That's life. Sometimes that unplanned thing is a pregnancy. But that "thing" is not a "thing"; it is a life. It has a heartbeat and ten fingers and ten toes. The baby has its own unique DNA. It is created in God's image for His plans and purposes, not necessarily yours. We humans are designed to populate and subdue the earth, giving glory to God in the process. As His image bearers, that's our job. Unfortunately, the devil (Satan), doesn't want us imaging or bringing glory to God and so he feeds us the lies of abortion and over-population (another of the topics in this series).
Abortion is a heart issue. It is an issue of caring (or not) for the completely innocent, the ultimate "weak" person that the Christian left highlights in their mission statement. The consequence of not keeping our pants zipped or our skirts down can result in a child that someone else may want. The nine months of pregnancy or "inconvenience" are a small consequence or price to pay for the joy of a child.
We on the Christian right are often times accused of not caring or understanding the homosexual man or woman; and by and large, they're right, we don't. Our words and sometimes deeds, appear to be very condemning and unloving. I am guilty of that. I am sorry for anything I have said that has been misconstrued as sounding hateful. That was never and is never my intent.
As I once wrote to my daughter in regard to her gay friends (whom I truly like and enjoy their company), and to my gay customers who frequent my business: I love you for who you are. I want you to be happy in your life. And I want you to be happy in your life, because God wants you to be happy in your life. But what I've learned (often the hard way), is that my way to "happiness" is very temporary and temporal.
God's plans and purposes for my happiness are based on eternity. God wants me to conform my life to His. And that truly is the bottom line. My way and "broad-minded" thinking or God's very narrow way. My broadminded thinking, choosing and acting will most likely lead to my harm or even destruction. God's very narrow way always leads to eternal life - although the road may not be the smoothest. God, out of love, created the universe and everything in it; you and I didn't. God is able to sustain the universe in every way; you and I are completely incapable of sustaining anything of lasting value, it all eventually crumbles and dies.
And that's the choice we're left with. God's way or my way. In His loving kindness, God leaves the choice to you and me. We will either choose rightly and enjoy God forever, or we will choose wrongly and suffer those consequences for eternity. Will we choose a personal relationship with the God of universe and live or will you choose a natural, temporal life apart from God and perish? As a watchman of God I say, "consider your choice."
Whether we're on the right or the left, each one of us will answer God. Jesus alone is the cornerstone of our faith, our lives, our actions. Everything that we say or think or do has a consequence - positive or negative. How will we respond?
Click here to return to the study "A Christian Response to Culture".
Music video: Hillsong United, "Cornerstone"
