A few of those “Medium Box” Truths

When I was a child, my father divided up all of the most important things he would ever need to tell me in life in to three separate groups. He called them the “small, medium, and big boxes.” The idea was that when I was young, understandably there would be many truths in life that I simply was not able to handle before a certain age, and therefore those discussions would need to wait until a later date to be had. Of course he was right, and I doubt there are many parents that would disagree with this strategy. 

Not surprisingly, as an adult I have a similar philosophy about truths which warrant communication, and I would say for many of those truths, it boils down to these categories: Facebook, Blog Post/Sermon, and one-on-one discussion truths. The idea behind that being, some issues you can address to a large number of people in a sentence or two, others require several paragraphs and are directed towards only those who would voluntarily succumb to a lengthy explanation, and still others are so touchy that they require a one-on-one sit down conversation. For example, “God’s not dead” is the epitome of Facebook post-worthy truths. You can blast that stuff all over social media and the worst you’ll get is an eye roll from either a nonbeliever or a truly committed evangelist.

Yes that little dig was intentional. 

Moving on.

Other things, like confronting a bother or sister in Christ on a personal moral failure, need to be addressed in person, with kindness and compassion. Our topic today (or rather my topic, and yours by extent if you are patient enough to still be reading) is one of those blog post/sermon topics, because it is public enough to be appropriate for social media, and yet controversial enough to bring the villagers out with their pitchforks and torches if not handled appropriately. 

Part of the reason this particular set of issues is so controversial, is that almost every Politician, Pastor, TV evangelist, and good ol’ boy who likes to run his mouth has weighed in on them by now.

It’s like everyone in America thinks it’s their Christian duty to put their two cents in. So, I figure if everyone else is doing it, I might as well join in. Before I do though, I want to be clear that my intent is not to stir up division, breed dissent, provoke anyone to anger, cause anyone to feel foolish, call anyone out specifically, or otherwise agitate anyone beyond the response which the truth alone would produce if received from any other source. In other words, for those that know me personally, I am not talking directly to, or about, you. This discourse is solely for the purpose of providing a biblical perspective to the Church on a crucial issue in our culture. Nothing more. 

Now that the four paragraph disclaimer is in place, I will press on ahead with the well intended but probably misguided assumption that nobody will get mad at me for this post. Worst case scenario, I can always fall back on my complete, yet good natured lack of remorse should anyone decide to be mad anyway. The topic at hand is manifested in three separate ways, and yet ultimately traces back to a core issue. That core issue, is that contemporary American Christians are whiny, distrustful crybabies. Every last one of them. 

<insert disclaimer admitting my own participation in said distrustful whininess, thus preventing anyone’s righteous indignation from being justifiable> 

We as both a nation on Earth, and a small portion of an Eternal Kingdom, are sometimes prone to acting as some of the most self-centered and faithless people ever to walk the earth. 

Now allow me to provide some clarification for these inevitably inflammatory remarks. What I really meant by that, was… well… Exactly what it sounded like I meant.

We, the church in America, are the people who walk in to worship on Sunday morning and sing songs with lyrics that say things like, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus’ name.” then walk out on Monday morning and buy an AR-15 to both protect our homes against potential invaders and stick it to the democratic man. 

We are the people who say things like, “I’m really just going to have to rely on God to choose the right one for me” when we are talking about our desire for a boyfriend or girlfriend, and not our desire for the next President of the United States. Somehow we think that our life partner is not something which requires our own good judgement, and our next national leader is something which we can control with our “all-powerful right to vote.” Maybe that’s why both our marriages and our presidents are failing. 

We are the people who who spout of verses about “judge not" this and “love all of these people unconditionally” and “forgive seventy times seven” when we are talking about people we can tolerate, and then go around complaining that congress should have ordered a bigger airstrike on ISIS months ago. 

Let me take these one at a time. First, is God more effective than an AR-15? (If your answer is no, then we have a whole other conversation on our hands) If He is, then why not spend time praying for protection instead of purchasing weapons for self defense? Are you afraid He won’t answer your prayers the way you want? Then He probably has a reason for that, and you might want to consider if it is wise to think you can take justice out of His hands and place it in your own. Now you might say, “God helps those who help themselves” for this kind of thing, but until you can show me a chapter and verse in the New Testament which condones an individual Christian killing another human for any reason, I will say that those who help themselves in the biblical sense are those who pray. 

“Turn the other cheek” is not conditional. The Bible says “Pray for those that persecute you,” not “shoot them.” And if you think persecution only means direct challenges to your faith, read 1 Peter. (Chapter 2, verses 18 through 23)

Concerning Presidents and other elected Officials, read 1st Peter chapter 2, verses 13 through 17, Romans 9:17, Colossians 1:16, the rest of the New Testament, etc. Believe it or not, it is not our Christian duty to vote. Nor is it our Christian duty to set up an earthly Christian nation called "America," and try to maintain it as such. What we are commanded to do instead is act as citizens of another nation all together, the Kingdom of Heaven, (Ephesians 2:19) and go out into this world as lights, being submissive to authority as far as it does not require us to violate scriptural commands, and focussing our time and energy not on political triumph, but on spiritual warfare. (Ephesians 6:12) At the time Paul wrote some of his letters, Nero was the Emperor and was trying to elect a horse as a member of the senate, set half the city on fire, and use Christians burning at the stake as lamps for his garden parties. This is the emperor Paul was saying to be subject to. If early Christians could be subject to him, you can deal with a President you don’t like for 8 years without complaining. You’re blessed to even have a vote at all. 

Finally, concerning ISIS, I only have one thing to say. 

It is a good thing the Bible does not condone airstrikes on everybody who decapitates children, or else everyone who has ever chosen to have an abortion would be left without a chance for repentance. 

If we extend grace to the mothers who have made a decision like that (as well we should) then consistency mandates that we do the same for everyone. But say you haven’t ever had an abortion? Then read Matthew 5:21. You’re probably no less guilty in the end (none of us are), and no, their sin is not greater than yours. So put down your rocks and walk away grateful for your own second chance, rather than attempting to rob somebody else of theirs. 

One other loose end to tie up, if anyone is thinking of appealing to the justice of God in the Old Testament, I wouldn’t recommend it. You would fail that test before ISIS would. 

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1-4) 

What this means, is that the God of Justice and Divine Wrath has chosen pour out His retribution in full upon the God of Mercy and Forgiveness, and as a result He has handed over to Him all authority and dominion to judge the living and the dead, and to decide the fate of mankind. This new Priest brings with Him a new Covenant, and a New Age. His name is Jesus Christ, and it is He alone who Justifies man before God. (Romans 8:31-34) For you to say someone is beyond the Justification of Christ is for you to make yourself Judge, and declare their eternal fate. More than that, it is to say that there is a point from which man cannot be redeemed, which is dangerous for you, because left to your own devices, you would surely cross it as well. “There, but for the grace of God, go us all.” 

If there were truly a point to all of this, I would say it is this: Pray without ceasing, and trust without wavering (1 Thessalonians 5:17, James 1:16). Either God is powerful, or He is not. And either His judgement is just, or it is not. He always hears your prayers, and always gives an answer. So trust His answer. Spend less time buying guns to defend yourself, and more time taking up the armor of God (Ephesians 6, Luke 12:4). Spend less time with political campaigning, and more time evangelizing. Take the command “Do not worry about anything” (Philippians 4:6) for what it is — a commandment — and quit worrying about the latest social media fueled panic, whether it be Ebola, dumping ice on your head, or a Mayor in Texas who trying to get copies of sermons. Speaking of which, sermons are meant to be read and to be disagreed with. I don’t see the problem here. Luke 11:49, John 15:20, and especially Romans 12:14 back that up.

Bottom line, you are not your own protector, and you are not the judge of mankind. So instead of trying to be those things, hope in the One who truly is. If you are still reading, I appreciate your time and attention. If you are mad, I am sorry that you are mad. I genuinely am. It is my desire to approach these topics with a blend of humor, logic, and scripture, and if I have not succeeded in doing that well, then I apologize. But I am not sorry for the principle behind it. As always, feel free to email me with questions, concerns or issues at wannabedeadguy@gmail.com

Thank you, and God bless.

- Robert