In my posting yesterday I shared how the Pharisees in Jesus’ day had distorted the Old Testament law to justify their hatred of people whom they disapproved of, disagreed with, or who were different than them. If you didn’t read yesterday’s blog, I encourage you to do so now.
Today I want to show you how we are not all that different from the Pharisees. I am going to give you three examples and I do so with fear and trembling. These are going to “step (OK, stomp) on your toes” so consider yourself pre-warned.
Example #1 = Politicians! In our culture today it has become the norm that if you disapprove of or disagree with the policies and positions of a politician, than it is OK to be hateful toward him or her as a person. We saw this when President Bush was in office. Those who disapproved of him or disagreed with his policies, especially as related to the war on terror, saw it as a justifiable reason to be hateful toward him as a person. And today the same is true regarding President Obama. And I find that even many followers of Christ, because they disapprove of the President and/or because they disagree with his policies, have justified in their heart, life and words, why it is OK to be hateful toward him, and sometimes towards his family as well.
Example #2 = Gay People! The same is true with the gay community. As a follower of Jesus who believes the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, I believe that homosexuality is a sin. I disapprove of the homosexual lifestyle. I disagree with the homosexual lifestyle. But that does not give me justification to be hateful toward homosexuals. That doesn’t give me justification to refer to the gay community using derogatory terms. Yet, that is exactly what many followers of Jesus do – and they seem to feel justified, even spiritual, in doing so.
Example #3 = Klu Klux Klan! When I pastored in Indiana, our church was within 1 mile of the largest KKK compound in the state of Indiana. They often had “white pride festivals” and burned crosses. But what I found was that the church community in the area responded to the KKK with reciprocal hatred. I remember being at a meeting where pastor after pastor was leveling hateful words about the KKK. Now I disapprove of the KKK. I disagree with the teachings of the KKK. But when I stood up to share my thoughts, I spoke about our need to pray for the KKK, that they would ultimately be radically changed and transformed through faith in Jesus Christ. When I got done, the next pastor stood up and opened his comments with, “Any coward can pray.” I remember talking to one of the area sheriff deputies who told me that the anti-KKK group was far more hateful and hard to deal with than the KKK was themselves.
The truth is that all of us can have the tendency to be like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. All of us have an area in our life where we have justified why it is OK, maybe even spiritual, to be hateful toward a person or a group of people because we disapprove of their lifestyle or disagree with their policies and beliefs. But I am reminded of what Jesus said when he contrasted the teaching of the Pharisees in Matthew 5:43-38 with His own teaching. Jesus said:
“Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
Today I want to show you how we are not all that different from the Pharisees. I am going to give you three examples and I do so with fear and trembling. These are going to “step (OK, stomp) on your toes” so consider yourself pre-warned.
Example #1 = Politicians! In our culture today it has become the norm that if you disapprove of or disagree with the policies and positions of a politician, than it is OK to be hateful toward him or her as a person. We saw this when President Bush was in office. Those who disapproved of him or disagreed with his policies, especially as related to the war on terror, saw it as a justifiable reason to be hateful toward him as a person. And today the same is true regarding President Obama. And I find that even many followers of Christ, because they disapprove of the President and/or because they disagree with his policies, have justified in their heart, life and words, why it is OK to be hateful toward him, and sometimes towards his family as well.
Example #2 = Gay People! The same is true with the gay community. As a follower of Jesus who believes the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, I believe that homosexuality is a sin. I disapprove of the homosexual lifestyle. I disagree with the homosexual lifestyle. But that does not give me justification to be hateful toward homosexuals. That doesn’t give me justification to refer to the gay community using derogatory terms. Yet, that is exactly what many followers of Jesus do – and they seem to feel justified, even spiritual, in doing so.
Example #3 = Klu Klux Klan! When I pastored in Indiana, our church was within 1 mile of the largest KKK compound in the state of Indiana. They often had “white pride festivals” and burned crosses. But what I found was that the church community in the area responded to the KKK with reciprocal hatred. I remember being at a meeting where pastor after pastor was leveling hateful words about the KKK. Now I disapprove of the KKK. I disagree with the teachings of the KKK. But when I stood up to share my thoughts, I spoke about our need to pray for the KKK, that they would ultimately be radically changed and transformed through faith in Jesus Christ. When I got done, the next pastor stood up and opened his comments with, “Any coward can pray.” I remember talking to one of the area sheriff deputies who told me that the anti-KKK group was far more hateful and hard to deal with than the KKK was themselves.
The truth is that all of us can have the tendency to be like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. All of us have an area in our life where we have justified why it is OK, maybe even spiritual, to be hateful toward a person or a group of people because we disapprove of their lifestyle or disagree with their policies and beliefs. But I am reminded of what Jesus said when he contrasted the teaching of the Pharisees in Matthew 5:43-38 with His own teaching. Jesus said:
“Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”
Thank you for speaking the truth! So many Christians fell justified in hating any person who does not follow the teachings of the Scripture. We should loathe ourselves for not following them, either! I have tried to train my mind to think of people as Jesus did: He was willing to DIE for their sins, whether they would accept Him or not, therefore I must pray for them. Ipray other Christians will do the same.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Craig!
ReplyDelete