Yesterday I finished my series on core doctrines of the Christian Church, and concluded that one of the major issues in the way Christians interact with each other today is the lack of distinction between core and marginal issues. Today I want to point to the other major issue that causes problems for Christians in their interactions with each other, a lack of compassion and understanding.
Let me start our with a scenario: you are in a bible study group that meets every Wednesday night. There are six of you and you all get along together really well. You have been together for about seven months and all of you feel like you can rely on your other brothers and sisters in the group for support. One of the group members, Jason, comes to group one night and everyone can tell that something is on his mind. Near the end of the study, the group leader, Phil, finally turns to Jason and says, "is something bothering you, it's apparent you've been upset all night?" Jason looks up with tears beginning to well up and tells your group that he fears he will not go to heaven because of some "sin" in his life. After some prodding Jason finally reveals that he is gay and that as much as he has been trying to repress it, it is just too hard. After some waiting, Phil finally responds by saying that Jason is right to be concerned because the bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin and that he needs to repent and stop sinning. At this point Jason is sobbing and the tension is felt throughout the whole group.
Many of you reading this blog may see nothing wrong with this encounter. This kind of thing happens every day in the Church, driving numerous people away from the Church and away from a relationship with Jesus, and yet those within the Church find this completely acceptable. But now I would like to point to how Jesus handled similar situations in Scripture.
In Luke 19:1-10 we have the story of Zaccheus the tax collector. The passage describes Zaccheus as a tax collector and a sinner (vv 1, 7; in those days tax collectors were seen as terrible sinners not to be associated with, and were always associated with prostitutes). When Jesus saw Zaccheus he said, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." Before Zaccheus repented, and without any word of warning to Zaccheus about his sinful lifestyle, Jesus showed acceptance to Zaccheus for who he was. Jesus knew the hurt Zaccheus dealt with being a tax collector and was able to emphathize with him, having compassion for him, and so he asked Zaccheus if he could dine with him. The Pharisees were upset that Jesus would eat with a sinner (a big no-no to the religious leaders who felt that would make a clean person unclean). Instead, Jesus showed the man love, without judgment or ridicule for his sinful lifestyle, and it was just by being in the midst of such love that Zaccheus decided for himself to change.
In a similar story in Matthew 9:9-13, Jesus pick Matthew to be one of his twelve disciples. Matthew happens to be another tax collector and is reviled for his sin, except by Jesus. Jesus showed him acceptence, picking him, a sinner, as one of his inner circle. Again, Jesus dines with Matthew, along with some other sinners, and is criticized by the religious authorities who said to his disciples (the very sinners they are referring to), "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus himself responds, and responds classically: "But when Jesus heard this, He said, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 'But go and learn what this means: "I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE," for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'"
Jesus' concern was not people's sins; his concern was people's hurts and his desire to heal those hurts, bringing them love. I love that last line, "I desire compassion, and not sacrifice." It reminds us that all the sacrificing we do (sacrificing salvation of others, sacrificing our relationships with others, sacrificing other people's sins) is not what Jesus commands. What Jesus commands is that we have love for one another, showing compassion to each other.
This requires us to look at things not from our own perspective, or bias, but to allow ourselves to look at things from everyone else's point of view. We do not need to sacrifice our own beliefs or even our own presuppositions. What we need to do is to recognize that many things that we often take as fact (e.g. that homosexuality is a sin) are actually our own presuppositions that blind us from emphathizing with others, and therefore from feeling compassion for them. Our role as Christians is to love one another, those outside the Church and those within.
In the above scenario, it would have done Phil right to place himself in Jason's shoes, to shed his own bias about homosexuality and to really see things from Jason's perspective, in order to better handle that situation. For, if homosexuality is a sin, Jason may be able to overcome it just by being around the love and compassion of the bible study, just like Zaccheus did by being around Jesus. And if homosexuality is not a sin (to see my views on homosexuality and Scripture, see "Related Posts" below), then Phil placed an unnecessary barrier between Jason and God. It is not our role as Christians to point out other people's sins. It is our role to be loving and compassionate, because it is only then that we assist a person in their salvation.
Blessings,
-Brandon
Related Posts
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2011/03/homosexuality-robert-schuller-crystal.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2010/10/being-compassionate-without-ulterior.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2010/10/jesus-shows-compassion-to-outsiders.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2010/10/manipulating-scripture.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2010/10/gay-christians.html
http://whatjesusdiddo.blogspot.com/2010/10/jesus-and-religious-leaders-in-bible.html
I really feel with you here. I'm an atheist, and I really detest many aspects of Christianity and religion in general, but the one thing I simply can't fault Christianity for is its teaching of acceptance, and it is a shame that so many Christians focus on the negative, exclusive teachings/interpretations.
ReplyDeleteOn a somewhat unrelated note, I find the whole tax collector part incredibly interesting. In Biblical times, I believe it was understood that tax collectors were sinngers because they committed usury, they made profit from the collection of taxes. Now, today, in America, the majority of bankers and white-collar businessmen consider themseles Christian, but see no problem whatsoever with charging interest on loans and making profits from business transactions. In fact, that's one of the biggest aspects of capitalism, and despite the fact that it's "sinful", the libertarian/tea party movement insists that capitalism is the economic system the founding fathers intended America to have, and at the same time, insist that the founding fathers were Christians. It's so contradictory I don't even know where to start.
Thank you for posting Guy. I think it is a shame that so many Christians neglect the teachings of love and acceptance that Jesus taught and instead focus on certain legalistic teachings based off of traditional mis-interpretations of Scripture.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your comments about capitalism, I don't think it was profit in itself that was seen as sinful in the tax collectors. Interest and profit are two different things and I think the tax collectors were charging unfair interest that made them look so sinful. More than that, the fact that the Jewish tax collectors worked for the oppressive Roman occupation gave the perception of falling away from God.
Since you mentioned it, I'm curious what it is about religion and Christianity that you detest so much? I'm sure you are used to having Christians shutting their ears to you right away without giving you an opportunity to say your peace. Let me assure you that I think dialogue is a good thing and am open to hear what you have to say.
Blessings,
-Brandon