What a crazy few weeks in our country!
Gun Control...
Louie Giglio's rejection/self-removal from the inaugural benediction...
Pat Robertson... well... being himself....
Again, my facebook addiction has given me such an interesting perspective on the lens' through which others see..
I've said on here before that I believe that fear is the driving force that causes those who are called to trust in Christ to become panicky, frayed, and down-right mean... especially when it comes to the societal, religious, and financial conflicts in our nation. And fear is not from God unless it is of Him.
However, I am struggling with a fear right now. The fear is that we are becoming a society of extremists. THIS is horrifying to me because it will leave those of us who still cling to logic and trust as the minority.
Let me use the "Louie Giglio" situation as an example. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll explain in a bit. :)
Roughly four decades to a half century ago, our nation was rapidly changing. Things that were once "hidden in a closet" were being talked about and explored openly. I believe that this has actually led to a lot of good and it was the will of God, but some Church leaders responded to this societal change negatively. (This made sense given the fact that much of this exploration and exposure included acceptance of behaviors and lifestyles that were once widely known as sinful.) I believe these leaders' intentions were good, but their methodology was completely flawed. These leaders lashed out at the homosexual community especially and truly succeeded in separating Christians from "sinners", as if there was really any difference.
Because of these extreme actions, those in the liberal, secular, and/or homosexual community who were also extremists and highly opinionated lashed out, and this ping-pong match, in my opinion, has been back and forth ever since.
Fast forward to 2013. Pastor Louie Giglio, a man who has worked closely with the President on social justice issues and has never given this gal any reason to believe that he lives for anything other than Christ (yes, I'm a fan) is asked to give the prayer at his inauguration. However, a 15 year-old sermon is found of his that had to do with the "sin of homosexuality" and he immediately becomes a target. He chose to peacefully decline the request to pray at this event; the White House happily accepted his self-removal and immediately apologized to the public for their poor choice in pastor.
Huh????
Okay... so... if I believe that spanking my child is beneficial and my neighbor believes that spanking is flat out wrong, can we not be friends??
Well, that depends. Are we going to be that immature or are we going to say, "Look, we definitely disagree on this issue, but our kids love each other and we also have a lot in common, so let's build a relationship on those things and take the spanking card off the conversation table." ?
I don't understand. When did Pastor Giglio's stance on homosexuality have anything to do with the proactive things he's done, such as his efforts toward ending human sex-trafficking? Did anybody really think his prayer was going to include anything pertaining to a message he preached 15 years ago?
See, here's the problem with extremism and the way our country is going... on both ends. We, especially our youth, are being led to believe that one fraction of a person or issue defines their/its whole.
I, for example, am a very anxious person. Not everyone understands anxiety. If someone gets to know me, it may very well annoy them how often I let my anxieties dominate my life. My own husband gets very frustrated with this component of who I am. Yet, he loves me? Why? Well, aside from the fact that I am trying (as pitifully as it may seem at times) to follow Jesus and that He alone gives my husband the love to love me (of which he beautifully recieves), I am a good mother to his children, I am compassionate, and he enjoys conversing with and bouncing ideas off of me. We have a wonderful friendship and unity. He does not see me as "my anxious wife, Crystal". He sees me as well.. me. Wife, mother, teacher, housekeeper, cook, youth leader, partner, etc....
Now, I am a Christian, so my husband and others hold me to the idea that I must always be working to trust Christ and shed my anxiety, because it is, in fact, sinful to worry. But even so, they take care to approach this with love and compassion because they know it's not a choice, but a struggle that at times breaks me.
However, if I were not a Christian, it would be hard convincing me that I was "sinning" because I would simply be going with my feelings, i.e, I FEEL like being anxious, therefore I should be.
We can parallel this with just about any sinful behavior (sexual immorality, drunkenness, slander, etc.)
By the same token, secular society needs to accept the fact that although the majority of evangelical Christians disagree with them on issues such as homosexuality, abortion, welfare, etc., this does not mean we have nothing to offer or to stand on together.
I am not worried about the "left" or "right" taking over. I'm struggling not to worry about anything, but I do...
I worry that my children, as Christ-followers, are going to feel the need to "pick a side"when the world is simply not black and white.
"The older I get, the grayer things become."..... I've heard my husband and a half dozen church leaders speak this truth.
I agree with the Church at large when it comes to homosexuality and many other social issues. I do not believe any sex outside of a marriage between a man and woman fits into God's design, but I don't plan to stand on a platform, political or otherwise, to stop it.
I am only just beginning to understand the complexity of human and cultural sexuality and what role genetics, environment, etc. play into the equation. I cannot begin to understand the pain, heartache, and despair that one struggling through sexual confusion feels.
I also cannot comprehend what a non-Christian who is sifting through their struggles without Jesus hears when one of us DOES choose to stand on a anti-sin-based platform, having no (and not being given any) background of the love of Christ.
Like Giglio, I desire to live a Christ-like existence. I will certainly give my opinion from a Biblical perspective when asked, but life is too short for an agenda. When pushed, I want to be able to say my piece, and then humble myself, step down off my podium, and get back to loving, serving, and praying for others.
As I've heard many wise say, "The Church should be known by what it's for, not what it's against."
The Holy Spirit led me today to Luke 14:7-33. I think Jesus gives us a little picture here of what we should be for. I especially love verse 11: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
As you go throughout your journey and your seasons, I hope you will join the ever-increasing minority. May we never be afraid to speak our Biblical opinion (because we are called to be bold), but may our ultimate goal be to see each individual and human being with their flaws AND strengths, through the eyes of Jesus. If we don't, the gospel will never be communicated and all our words will be meaningless.
