Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Isn’t it ironic?

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In a recent Washington Post article detailing a video message to the NARAL Pro-Choice America annual dinner, President Obama is quoted as saying,

“This is a country where the success of all of us depends on the empowerment of each of us, where all Americans should have the freedom and opportunity to reach their potential. And I know that’s what you’re fighting for every day.”

I wonder if I am the only one that sees the irony in this statement. Our success as a nation depends on individual empowerment, but abortion takes away the rights and power of the most helpless constituent, the unborn children.

While on the surface we are more civilized than ancient nations who practiced child sacrifice, the net result is the same. We sacrifice our children to appease the gods of convenience and success. We don’t have to bang drums to drown out the children’s screams so perhaps the death we deal is more tolerable, but the result is the same.

The point of this post is not political. It matters little if there is an R or a D behind the names of our politicians. We, as a society, do not have the moral outrage at this miscarriage of justice. Like the duped Germans in the 1930’s, we turn a blind eye. Our politicians give us what we want, the freedom to exercise a choice that is not ours to make. We apparently never learned the lesson that two wrongs do not make a right.

Politicians like our President, see abortion supporters as just another constituency, one more voting block which needs to be secured. They pander to the group that can secure the next election. Unfortunately, the unborn cannot vote and therefore have no voice.

Like the culture around them, these politicians have tossed away their moral compass to allow them the freedom of being lost. That freedom comes at a high cost. I agree with the President’s statement. The success of the country does depend on the empowerment of each of us. The problem is that he forgot that the unborn children are included in “each of us.”

Until those unborn children are given the opportunity to reach their potential the success mentioned by our President will continue to elude us.

Isn’t it ironic?

Abusive Churches

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Abusive ChurchIn an article called Abusive Churches, Pat Zukeran lists eight characteristics of an abusive church. A summary of the characteristics in Pat’s words (bold emphasis added by me) is below:

First, abusive churches have a control-oriented style of leadership. Second, the leaders of such churches often use manipulation to gain complete submission from their members. Third, there is a rigid, legalistic lifestyle involving numerous requirements and minute details for daily life. Fourth, these churches tend to change their names often, especially once they are exposed by the media. Fifth, denouncing other churches is common because they see themselves as superior to all other churches. Sixth, these churches have a persecution complex and view themselves as being persecuted by the world, the media, and other Christian churches. Seventh, abusive churches specifically target young adults between eighteen and twenty-five years of age. The eighth and final mark of abusive churches is the great difficulty members have in getting out of or leaving these churches, a process often marked by social, psychological, or emotional pain.

My point in sharing this is twofold:

  1. I want to encourage church leaders to examine their leadership style against this list and see if there are areas in which repentance and reconciliation should take place.
  2. I want to encourage church members / attenders to examine the church they attend in light of this list. If you find that you are in a church that is described by these characteristics, find a new church.

Compulsion and manipulation should never take place in the body of Christ. Either God is in control of a local body or the leader is. There is no shared control. The leader should always keep in mind that he is an under-shepherd who is responsible to the Master Shepherd. The pastor or elder must never lose sight of the fact that he is leading his peers; we are all equal at the foot of the Cross.

I have been in churches that had several of these characteristics but I have never been in one that had all eight. Even so, I have found that the eighth item listed above is especially true. My experience is that coming out of a church that only had a few of these was indeed a painful process.

Satan is shrewd. If he cannot get us to embrace doctrinal error, he will trip us up with spiritual pride. Those of us who are identified as leaders in the church must be constantly vigilant in watching for pride to creep in. As I see it, pride is the foundation upon which the control and manipulation described above is built.

Leaders who walk in humility and submission to Jesus Christ will not fall into the eight errors listed above.

Miles Stanford on self denial

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Miles Stanford
Miles Stanford

We often come across Christians who are bright and clever, and strong and righteous; in fact, a little too bright, and a little too clever – there seems so much of self in their strength, and their righteousness is severe and critical. They have everything to make them saints, except . . . crucifixion, which would mold them into a supernatural tenderness and limitless charity for others. But if they are of the real elect, God has a winepress prepared for them, through which they will some day pass, which will turn the metallic hardness of their nature into gentle love, which Christ always brings forth at the last of the feast.

– Miles Stanford

Quarterbacks, kings and the rest of us

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The Quarterback

Alex Smith
By BrokenSphere (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
A lot is being made of the fact that when Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49er’s lost his job as starting quarterback, he acted like a professional and continued to work hard to help his team. Just this morning, I heard that the head coach commended Alex for stepping in to help coach his replacement.

Alex did not lose his job because he failed. The team had a winning record when he was replaced. I doubt that he stopped believing in his ability to get the job done, nor did he lose his desire to play. I am sure that when the first whistle blows on Sunday that Alex will feel a pang knowing that unless his replacement gets hurt or plays poorly, he will not get to play.

It is fascinating to listen to sports talk radio as they discuss this. They admire Alex’s circumspection and reluctance to cause a problem. But, they are sometimes at a loss to figure out what would motivate him to take this so well.

Most attribute Alex’s behavior to the fact that he is likely to get a large contract next year from a team that is in need of a starting quarterback if he does not cause problems in the locker room. Some attribute it to professional pride. Others point to his respect for his coach. Is it possible that he is doing it because it is the right thing to do, no matter the consequences? Without him telling us, it is impossible to know for sure what his motivation is.

The King

Jonathan was the crown prince. When Saul, the king, could no longer reign, Jonathan would assume the throne. Yet we learn in the book of 1 Samuel, that God had a different plan. David, the shepherd and giant killer, was God’s choice to be king after Saul.

Jonathan could have participated with Saul in the attempts to remove David as a threat. Jonathan could have complained, mocked or ridiculed David as a usurper to the throne. Yet, Jonathan did none of these things. What he did do was to help David and to make a covenant with him. Jonathan was content to serve under David, he understood that to submit to David was required of him in submission to God.

The rest of us

Our culture puts a lot of pressure on us to succeed and move up. “Second place is first loser” is often said with regard to sports but this attitude transfers into all of life. We fell pressure to move up the corporate ladder, add more clients, build our income or increase our prestige. We are told that we should never accept a lesser position, that we should strive and do whatever it takes to get the higher one.

Despite what self-help gurus and advertisers tell us, we cannot all be the boss. We cannot all come out on top. Some of us are underemployed. Some of us are in positions in life that are not what we would consider optimal. How do we deal with this?

The Bible has examples of men and women who had legitimate reason to be frustrated with their circumstances but choose to be content while they waited for change. Joseph, Daniel, Abigail, Moses and Ruth come immediately to mind. All of these were commended for their faithfulness despite their frustrating circumstances. They did not wallow in self pity, nor did they give up hope for change, they trusted God with their desire for improvement.

We can learn from Jonathan and Alex Smith that while it may not be glamorous or yield reward in the short run, faithfulness in the role we are currently given is the right thing to do.

For the Christian, who is seeking God through his circumstances while waiting (and perhaps striving) for change, we have the assurance that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NASB)

Play backup if it is necessary but be preparing for the move up when God deems the time to be right.

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