Law Abiding: Does That Mean Loving?

We humans like rules - rules to govern behavior, rules to govern relationships, rules to govern society, rules to govern business and economics, rules to govern worship, rules to govern our meetings, rules to govern our sports - you get the picture. Rules come in various forms - morals, societal expectations, commandments, laws, tradition, ritual, policy - but they all serve one purpose: to govern what we do.

We use rules as a means of dealing with our default human nature. We have learned through the centuries that rules and laws are needed to curb our self-serving nature. We don't trust our "yes" to be "yes," as Jesus taught. We don't trust the other to do what is right or fair for all. And for good reason! We find a way around the rules for our own advantage - just look at national politics. And we write rules (laws) that are advantageous to us but not to all (think congress). In a nation founded on the principle that "all men are created equal," we still struggle to create a society in which all are, in fact, equal. So we create rules and write laws.

I see a number of problems with our rules. Yes, I agree: we need rules and laws. But they still have limitations. Until we recognize and acknowledge the limitations, we will naively depend on rules and laws without regard to their fairness to all.

The first limitation I identify: rules and laws are about behavior. They cannot change the heart. In fact, rules and laws often harden the heart. All of the civil rights legislation, dating back to the 60's, have not eliminated racism. At best, it only made racism go underground and strengthened it. Consider today's political climate or the mass shootings targeting Hispanics, immigrants, blacks, Jews, Muslims.

Which leads to a second limitation: rules inherently stir resistance. We don't like someone else telling us what to do. Remember the outcry among Evangelical Christians at the Supreme Court ruling regarding gay marriage. (Aside: how does Rob and Don's marriage diminish Etta's and my marriage?)

Rules and laws often foster a false sense of superiority. We use the rules to gauge how good we are and how "bad" others are because they don't follow the rules. This attitude is expressed in the term "law abiding."  Religious folks are especially prone to this kind of thinking. For example, consider how we in The UMC view those who take a different position on LGBTQ issues. People on both sides of the issue are equally guilty of viewing the "other" as wrong and, thereby, "less than."

Then, we use the rules to justify our own position and attack the others' position. People on both sides of the LGBTQ issue say "the Bible says!"

Rules and laws are often used to impose "my" position on others. The rule targets "them," not me.

Each of these limitations (and there are others) has to do with the ego. The ego is about "me" - what I want, what I think, what is in my best interest, what is to my advantage. The ego looks at life through "us-them" lens, identifying those who are different as "other." The ego lives out of  fear of the other. The ego lives out of a scarcity mentality that does not think there is enough for everyone. So, the ego wants to ensure I get my share ... and more! Others are viewed as a threat that will keep me from getting "what is rightfully mine." The ego uses power against the other for personal advantage.

What is needed is a radical change of our basic, self-serving nature, i.e., the ego-based self, what the Bible calls the heart.

How we view and treat others is a reflection of what is on the inside - what is in the heart. We do not need more rules to tell us what to do. The rules can tell us what to do, but cannot give us the power to do it. (Paul makes this point in Romans 8:2-3.) What we need is the Spirit to transform what is deep within us. As this transformation occurs, we will understand and embrace Jesus's position about the Law. He identified the greatest commandment as love: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:34-40). Jesus' summary of the Law: love God, love neighbor. Paul echoed Jesus in Galatians 5:14 - "For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" I've heard this truth expressed today in these words: if you have to choose between obeying a law and loving another, choose to love. You are never "in the wrong" when you choose to love.

What we need is love ... and that requires a radical change of heart. No rule or law can make me love, but the Spirit can empower me to do so.

May it be so for those of us who follow Jesus!

Saying Goodbye to Being Christian

I no longer identify myself as a Christian.

Since I was a young teen, I have called myself a Christian. This confession has shaped my life, directed my educational pursuits, and determined my life's vocation. But, in recent years, I no longer identify myself by the term "Christian."

I am a follower of Jesus, a disciple.

The term "Christian," like so many religious terms, has taken on too much baggage. To identify as a Christian automatically leads to the next question: what kind of Christian? What brand? I often find myself having to explain "I am not that kind of Christian." So, instead, I no longer use the term.

Interestingly, the term "Christian" was given to the early followers by outsiders. Those early Jesus followers talked about and patterned their lives after "the Christ." Thus, their neighbors referred to them as Christ-ones, Christians.

But not today. Today, the label "Christian" has been hijacked. Today, the term "Christian" is associated with beliefs and positions on issues rather than with a life patterned after the teachings of Jesus. Jesus' spirit of love has been displaced by rigid positions and condemnation of those who do not agree with those positions. And many of those positions are not who I am or what I believe. Even more, many of those positions do not reflect who Jesus was or what he taught, as I understand it. They do not reflect the spirit of Jesus or express the love of Jesus.

So I am saying goodbye to being "Christian." I have unashamedly worn the label most of my life. But no longer. I don't want to be associated with those who claim to be Christian but do not reflect the spirit or life of Jesus.

I want to be known as a follower of Jesus, a disciple.

Is God on My Side or Am I on God's Side?

All this talk about "thinking" I've been doing, it seems to me, boils down to a simple either-or option. It is one or the other. It can't be both.

Do I allow God's ways (God's truth, God's thoughts) to shape the way I think OR do I use God (i.e., the Bible, the church) to validate what I believe, that is, how I think?

Throughout human history, we humans have claimed that God is "on our side." In our theological debates, in our stances on moral issues, in our political positions, in our wars - we claim our position is God's position. In other words, to disagree with us is to go against God. Our confidence that God is "on our side" frees us from having to examine what we believe or listen to what others believe. We avoid genuine dialogue opting, instead, to dig in and defend our position while attacking the other's. The inevitable outcome is division and alienation.

This claim - or, should I say "false claim" - is more about us than it is about God. We like to be "right." We like being certain.

This desire for certainty is a part of merit-based thinking. "Being right" is another form of "being good." It reflects our effort to be acceptable to God based on what we do. This "being right" mentality does not know grace and, consequently, does not reflect a spirit of grace.

A key indicator that God's truth and God's ways are shaping our thinking is grace. We live with a spirit of humility as we trust God's grace, knowing our relationship with God is not based on being good or right. We relate to others with grace, expressed in unconditional acceptance and forgiveness. We value people more than rules or laws, relationships more than "being right," reconciliation over division. We understand that living out of grace is what it means to be "right."

Sometimes, when we think we are "right" because God is on our side, we are actually wrong because we haven't gotten on God's side. God's truth and God's ways of grace haven't shaped our thinking ... and it shows in our attitudes toward those with whom we disagree.

Thinking Theologically, Not Politically

It seems to me, thinking theologically is a lost art today among those who call themselves "Christian". Yet, thinking theologically lies at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Thinking theologically is allowing our understanding of who God is and of God's ways to shape how we think and what we believe. Consequently, the nature of God and the ways of God (the Kingdom) shape what we do and how we live.

The failure to think theologically results in us living out of our old, pre-Christian ways of thinking.  In other words, being a Christian hasn't changed us significantly. We are simply a religious version of our former self. Our lives and lifestyles reflect little significant difference from our previous life ... or from those around us, for that matter.

The lost art of thinking theologically is the by-product of the current focus on beliefs. We can "believe" something - an intellectual exercise - that never touches our heart, much less transforms it. What we believe may even be theologically correct, i.e., orthodox, but it does not translate into practice, i.e., orthopraxy. Doctrines and beliefs seldom transform. The experience of grace does. Beliefs that do not lead us to love as Jesus loved are rooted in faulty thinking, not theological thinking.

The starting place for thinking theologically is the character of God as reflected in the life of Jesus and his teachings of the Kingdom of God! What we believe is to be shaped by the character of God and Jesus' teachings of the Kingdom. Note: The starting place for thinking theologically is not the Bible ... and certainly not what we believe! Thinking from the perspective of the character of God and the ways of God (the Kingdom) moves us beyond using the Bible to defend our beliefs, i.e., "The Bible says ..."

Today's political climate is evidence of this lost art of thinking theologically. It seems to me that many of those who call themselves "Christian" today think more in political terms than theological terms. For example, I have been called a liberal preacher. "Liberal" is a political term that people use when they do not agree with what I (or other so-called liberal preachers) proclaim. Calling me or others "liberal" is a way of dismissing what we teach without engaging in dialogue and theological thinking. It is a way to avoid examining what they believe in light of the teachings of Jesus. Their belief, not the teachings of Jesus, become the standard of what is right or wrong.

Thinking theologically is rooted in a teachable spirit. It expresses a humility that knows there is always more to God and God's truth than what I know.  It is part of a commitment to grow in one's understanding of the ways of God and, thereby, in Christ's likeness.

How we think governs how we live. The Spirit of God challenged and changed the thinking of Peter, Paul, and the early church in Jerusalem. That change in what they believed resulted in a change in how they lived. They moved from being in step with their culture - a religious culture, at that! - to being out of step with their culture but in step with the ways of God.

It seems to me that thinking theologically is a vital part of being a faithful follower of Jesus.

But, then, this blog about thinking theologically may just be my liberal thinking!

Or is it?