As followers of Jesus we have a better message than “our morals are better.”  Unfortunately, that’s often what our neighbors and cultures think our message is all about.  Several weeks ago I read an interesting Easter post by Ricky Gervais (the  humorous yet irreverent comedian who hosted the Golden Globes) which really made me think about this.  His basic premise is that if the 10 Commandments give an overview of what it means to be a good Christian then he passes the test.   He states, “I am of course not a good Christian in the sense that I believe that Jesus was half man, half God, but I do believe I am a good Christian compared to a lot of Christians.”

I wonder as I’m seeking to follow Jesus in the midst of a moral revolution if this is the message my nonChristian friends hear:  I’m right and you’re wrong… you’re bad and I’m better…if you follow Jesus, he’ll make you a better person just like me.

Let me just say, though,  before someone declares me a heretic: morals matter.  From scripture we can see that God is holy and cares greatly about integrity, character, honesty, justice, compassion, righteousness, and right vs. wrong.  I do think sometimes as Christians, though, we market our “better morals” at the expense of the gospel of Jesus.  So, here are a few thoughts I’ve been chewing on:

1) Focusing on our “better” morals makes us the heroes. Unwittingly, we can shine the spotlight on our ourselves as we talk about what we can do and the good we’ve accomplished.  We can quickly come across as those who like to sound the trumpet as they give to the needy or pray on the street corners so they may be seen by others (Jesus’ words in Matthew 5).  No one likes it when someone rings their own bell anyway.  Also, as followers of Jesus we should know by now that we are not the heroes in this story- someone far greater is.

2) I’m not certain that our morals are always better. I have a Muslim friend who is an excellent husband and father.  He displays compassion, integrity, and work ethic exceeding that of many Christians I know.  I also have homosexual friends who are incredibly benevolent to the poor and disenfranchised.  The message of better morals rings hollow in these situations.  When we place the focus on others’ sin and shortcomings instead of our own we lose credibility and the privilege to speak into their lives.

3) Letting the pendulum swing to embracing tolerance is not the answer either. UNESCO gives this definition for tolerance: Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Tolerance is harmony in difference. Here’s my Kevinized definition: tolerance says I’m ok, you’re ok, we’re all ok, so let’s just stay that way and enjoy each other. Here’s the BIG PROBLEM: we’re not OK.  If we take an honest look at ourselves and the world around us we’d know it and tolerance does nothing substantial to solve the ripple effects of our sinfulness.

4) Grace is a much stronger message than better morals or embracing tolerance. Grace takes the focus off of how good we’re attempting to be and places the focus where it belongs: the goodness of God.  Grace also offers a much more radical acceptance than tolerance.  Grace says to come as you are, let’s see the real you—the good, the bad and the ugly of who you are—and by the way you get to see the good, bad, and ugly of my life too. I’m messed up, you’re messed up, we’re all messed up, but we don’t stay there—we recognize that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has something better for all of us to pursue…and we are going to pursue this with God together.

Should we care about living lives of character, integrity, morality, and justice in the midst of moral relativism? Yes.

Should we set the pace in the way we sacrificially serve our neighbors and especially the poor and disenfranchised? Yes.

But we must always remember none of this is because of who we are and what we have done but all because of who Jesus is and what He has done.  Our good works are merely the overflow of a life being transformed and overflowing with the grace of God.

We very seldom view accumulating stuff as a barrier to serving others.  Common sense would seem to say that if you possess more stuff then you have more with which to serve others.  Jesus appeared to see this from a different perspective.   In Luke 12 Jesus tells a parable of a rich man whose  land is especially productive and has much more than he needs.  The rich man comes to a simple conclusion of what to do with this incredible blessing:

I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.

Jesus proceeds to tell His disciples (which hopefully includes you and me) that our lives should follow a radically different path rooted in living out His kingdom in the here and now.  Here’s Jesus’ radical conclusion of how that should look:

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

I don’t want to get too preachy here, but as followers of Jesus a big part of our mission (our reason for existing on this earth) is to be a glimpse of Jesus’ coming kingdom.  Think of our life’s misson as being an appetizer for the amazing banquet that is to come (check out this parable too).  Jesus seems to repeatedly say that our desire to hold on to the stuff of this world creates a big barrier to us living out this mission…

Here’s a few thoughts on why:

The more stuff we have, the more we want more stuff. Consumerism is addictive.  Our natural tendency is to pursue the bigger, nicer, better, fancier ____________.

The more stuff we have, the more we want to hold on to our stuff.  Somehow our stuff  easily becomes the source of our security and satisfaction.  Our hearts have the capacity to turn almost anything into an idol.

The more stuff we have, the more our stuff becomes the desire of our hearts. We often think that wherever our heart is that our treasure  (money & resources) will follow.  Jesus says it’s the other way around.

The more stuff we have, the more of our time and energy it requires. Just check out our calendars.  A lot of time is spent keeping up our nice stuff rather than sacrificially serving others.

The more stuff we have, the more it insulates us from the needs of others. Everyone (both wealthy and poor) has needs, but all too often pursuing bigger better stuff removes us from intersecting with those in need. Does God  choose to bless some with larger houses, nicer cars, and more resources? Certainly.  Does God lead some Jesus-followers to reach out to the wealthy with the good news of Jesus? Of course…

BUT here’s the big bottom line:  If God blesses us with a lot of stuff , it’s so we can be a blessing to others and become a glimpse of His kingdom in the midst of a messed up world.

Footnote:

Although this 2002 Barna study is several years old and focused on tithing, I still find it interesting and somewhat relevant:

In general, the more money a person makes the less likely he/she is to tithe. While 8% of those making $20,000 or less gave at least 10% of their income to churches, that proportion dropped to 5% among those in the $20,000-$29,999 and $30,000-$39,999 categories; to 4% among those in the $40,000-$59,999 range, down to 2% for those in the $60,000-$74,999 niche; and to 1% for those making $75,000-$99,999. The level jumped a bit for those making $100,000 or more, as 5% of the most affluent group tithed in 1999.

 

For some reason this issue  (retribution vs. reconciliation) has been on my mind a lot lately.  Part of the reason is having a new baby.  There’s something about spending time with Jude and Wren that makes me think about things such as redemption and reconciliation.  In my family, and especially in my relationship with my own dad, I’ve struggled with the desire for retribution and the need for reconciliation.  Maybe it’s also partially influenced by the whole Osama Bin Laden thing.  I’ve found myself excited that he’s dead and he can no longer directly hurt people- as some have put it, “justice has been served.”  I’ve also found myself wondering if my excitement, thoughts, and feelings have somehow moved away from the arena of justice to vengeance (a.k.a. retribution).

One reason this should be a big deal to us is that reconciliation should be one of the defining values of a Jesus-follower.  The Apostle Paul writes that God through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).  Although we may 100% embrace the idea that Jesus went to the cross for us, forgave us our sins, and gave us a restored relationship with God, we often struggle to practically live out that reconciliation right now in the real world.  Two examples stick out in my mind…

#1) Reconciliation in our families. I constantly hear about how the family is endangered in America due to issues such as the “culture wars,” the debate about gay marriage, or the growing depravity of the entertainment industry.  I personally think the greatest attack is not from outside but from within our families due to broken relationships.

Many of us have been impacted by divorce, whether as participants or victims.  We’ve seen husbands and wives exchange vows then break those vows.  I’ve personally heard Christians say that they are divorcing due to “irreconcilable differences.”  I’ve seen adult children refuse to speak to their parents due to mistakes from the past and vice versa.  Somehow we’ve grown to accept that love can turn into hatred.

This is not a distant struggle for me.  As an adult I watched my parents go through a divorce due to my father’s indiscretions that was finalized one month before my wedding.  Although I was extremely close to my Dad while growing up, we ended up going through two years of not speaking.  I had a choice to make: I could either make him pay for his mistakes for the rest of his life or seek reconciliation.

I think somewhere along the line God showed me that if I’m going to talk about being reconciled to our heavenly Father that I need to be reconciled to my earthly father.  I especially want my kids to understand what scriptural reconciliation is about- hopefully they’re seeing it right in front of them.

#2) Reconciliation with our enemies. I know that’s a pretty broad term, but when I use it you probably already have a picture of who that is from your perspective.  Usually, when we’re using the “us” and “them” terminology, your enemies would be the “them.”  Maybe it’s those nations or groups at war with America.  Maybe it’s the groups on the opposite side of the Christian culture wars.  For a Democrat it may be a Republican and to Republicans it’s the Democrats.

Here’s the big challenge: Jesus teaches us to love our enemies just as He tells us to love our neighbors.  Whether we consider someone (or a group of people) our neighbor or our enemy, Jesus challenges us to love them in the same manner.

I do not believe this means we should not seek justice nor stop those who are doing wrong from harming the innocent.  Unfortunately, we often cross the line of justice into the arena of vengeance and retribution.  Only when we place vengeance in God’s hands can we approach others with a spirit of reconciliation so that they may see the life of Jesus in us.  I realize this is a tough line to tow…

How do we really know if we’re driven by justice or vengeance?

What does it look like show forgiveness and offer reconciliation while not dismissing appropriate consequences?

I’d love to hear your feedback.