In the movie ‘Men in Black,’ Dr. Weaver (the coroner) says,
“I hate the living.” As funny as that line sounded in the movie, sometimes I
hate people too. Suddenly it’s not so funny. Maybe “hate” is the wrong way of
putting it; after all, “hate” is a pretty strong word.
Let’s try that again. Sometimes, as un-Christian as it most certainly sounds, I dislike associating with other Christians. I think I could easily unplug myself from all social networks, become a hermit or a recluse, and go off and live by myself in the mountains somewhere. Does that shock you?
Let’s try that again. Sometimes, as un-Christian as it most certainly sounds, I dislike associating with other Christians. I think I could easily unplug myself from all social networks, become a hermit or a recluse, and go off and live by myself in the mountains somewhere. Does that shock you?
I need to be careful; I think I may be starting to become a
little cynical.
I am really starting to get tired of listening to Christians
justify their judgmental spirit of dissension and factions (“acts of the sinful
nature,” according to Galatians 5:20) upon the fact that Jesus was also known
to get angry, as if to suggest that then it makes it OK for them to piously be
angry too. Yes, Jesus was known for occasionally displaying anger. However,
lest we’ve forgotten, Jesus is also the exact manifestation of God the Father
and could (and did) do so sinlessly. When it comes to you and I, however, I
believe that our ever-present carnal nature makes it less likely that we can really
go and do likewise.
Why does this bother me so much? It does so because I see
the same negative spirit in me. I’m no better. I too have flown off the handle
and come unglued on other Christians who have thought differently than me. Through
my sarcasm, I too have offended and hurt others. God forgive. Oh sure, we mask
the whole thing up as promoting healthy discussion, but is it really? Sometimes
I really think that I need to keep my musings to myself.
The very minute someone gets hurt by my theological tirade,
I am no longer acting in love. Think about that for a moment. If someone gets
hurt by what you or I say (or by how we say it), regardless of how much truth we
may have spoken, then are we really acting in love? In my humble opinion,
despite all our justifying of ourselves to the contrary, the answer is, “No.”
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13: 1-3; NIV)
But what if they are clearly wrong? Has not Paul also said, “Watch your life and doctrine closely”
(1 Timothy 4:16)? Yes he did, but that doesn’t mean that we have the right to
act un-lovingly because of it. And yet it often seems that we do just that,
beating each other up with all our doctrines, claiming to have the truth, and then
calling it Christianity. Am I really endorsing error and thereby watering down
the Gospel by not pointing the flaws and errors in others more often than I do?
Some of my critics have accused me of doing just that on several occasions.
Instead I would argue that, just as “God
is love” (1 John 4:16), love trumps doctrine every time. Instead I would
argue that, “whatever you believe about
these [other doctrinal] things keep
between yourself and God” (Romans 14:22).
Two more questions and then I’ll shut up:
- What do you suppose goes through God’s mind when He sees some of the lousy unloving ways that we treat His other children, for whom Christ also died?
- If God has already accepted them, dare we really dis-fellowship ourselves from them simply over differences in doctrine?
I wonder. At the very least, it’s something to think about. Peace
and Blessings.
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