These words often fall on deaf ears inside the walls of the church. They have fallen into the bucket of overused Sunday School clichés. It’s said many times around the Easter season, but rarely said with the truth and power that lies behind.
Bad news is easy to find.
We live in a world that is suffering. Our news is dominated by stories of ISIS and RFRA laws and mass shootings. People are protesting and arguing over every issue that comes up. Stories about genocide, starvation, disease and oppression flood the less popular news sources.
Bad news finds us anywhere.
We live in a world that is desperate. More and more millennials are walking away from churches, but it’s not out of disbelief. According to Pew Research 3 out of 4 of these millennials consider themselves in some way religious. They are searching in all the wrong places.
Bad news falls in our laps.
We live in a world where our neighbors, family and friends struggle. They get broadsided with divorce and death. They feel the weight of depression and poverty. There is a sense of hopelessness that exists down the street and in our homes. And we don’t know what to do.
But there is good news.
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
That is not just a meaningless group of words put together to evoke religious emotion. That is a truth that cuts deeper than our sorrows. It is a balm that can heal our wounds and suffering. It is a reality that God is good.
The Gospel is good news!
Because He is risen we can have peace. We know that the wind and waves that crash against our lives can be calmed by a savior who was not only present for the disciples, but is alive and present today.
Because He is risen we can feel love. There’s a love that is wilder than the passion of a lover, more honest than that of a child, more nurturing than that of a mother and more protective than that of a father. There is a love that caused God to empty himself completely and to suffer and die. A love that would rather go through Hell itself, than to watch us go through it.
Because He is risen we can know hope. This government can’t offer eternal hope. Schools can’t offer real hope. Economic systems can’t offer true hope. All of those systems will fail. There is only one hope that is true, real and eternal. There is only one hope that can change the heart of a man or woman. Only one hope can forgive you of sin. Only one hope can restore relationships, health and finances.
Because He is risen we have good news that is greater than any of the bad. Because He is risen we can live in freedom without fear.
Because He is risen we can know God and eventually see Heaven.
This Easter remember the true life changing and world changing Gospel.
I've never been one to overreact. I remember watching the 2006 AFC Championship game between the Colts and Patriots. Growing up in Indiana made me a pretty big Colts fan. Going into halftime the Colts were losing 21-6. The Patriots had scored three touchdowns and the Colts hadn't scored one. No team had ever come back from that score in a championship game. The odds were completely against the team I was cheering for.
Everyone watching the game with me was convinced that the Colts were done for. They had lost hope. My reaction was not the same as my friends. I've always believe it's not over till it's over. There's always hope until the last second. Some may say it's a naive demeanor, but I believe it's a realistic optimism.
I also tend to be a realist. I don't give up hope easily, but I always look at cost vs. reward. I look at odds and possibilities and acknowledge the chance of failure. Some have seen that as pessimism but it is very different. Acknowledging the possibility or even probability of failure is not the same as losing hope or admitting defeat. It is most definitely not seeing the world through a negative lens.
I have always looked down on those who prophesied doom and gloom, those who predicted the collapse of a nation because of public policy changes, religious perception or economic fluctuation. I believe that more often than not paranoia causes chaos for no reason. This world functions with an ebb and flow. Like the tides it can be high or low, but it's always moving toward one or the other and then back again.
I don't like to overreact. I like to be a realist and an optimistic one, but I must admit that it is getting more and more difficult everyday in this country to remain an optimist. The reality is not always that optimistic. The media these days tends to focus on the problems overseas. We hear about countries in Europe going bankrupt as the media shows us that things aren't as bad here as they are over there. We see on our TV and computer screens pictures of war torn countries and we can see that things aren't as bad here as they are over there. We hear about innocent people being attacked everyday by terrorists and once again we are reminded that things are always worse over there.
The problem is that over there is now coming here. I write this at the risk of sounding like an extremist and an overreactor. We are now living in a country that is no longer doing the things that once made it the envy of the world. This country is now doing the exact opposite of those things. We prospered because we allowed individuals to work hard and excel. We had an economic system that rewarded patience and hard work. We had a system of government that actually governed without excess control. These things are now a thing of the past.
This past election has proven that the American people no longer want this type of government. They want a government that does not govern but coddles. They want an economy that does not reward but redistributes. They want system that does not encourage hard work and ingenuity but gives to everyone equally no matter their effort.
This is not the country that was formed by our founding fathers. I can tell you that if the vote for President was left to our founding fathers we would have had a drastically different outcome. I don't just say that because I disagree with President Obama's political philosophy. I say it because of the very words of some of those who helped to form this nation.
At this point I want to make it very clear that I am not condeming any individuals. I do not hate President Obama. I do not think he is a bad person or that he is evil. I simply disagree with his political philosophy. I believe that his ideas, if allowed to be carried out to fruition, will destroy this nation and many livelihoods in the process.
Benjamin Franklin
In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.” Some reasons people voted for Obama were things like "free" health care, cheaper college, cheaper housing and a stimulated economy that puts more money in my pockets regardless of how hard I work for it. All this provided through the means of government programs and government intervention.
Many people voted not for Obama or for the Democrat or for who was best fit to run this country. Many people voted, instead, for money in their own pocket. Money for themselves. This is what Franklin told us would be the warning sign for the end of this government.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson wrote many things in his life. One of the most popular and more important was the Declaration of Independence. His ideas were foremost in the forming of this nation. He also wrote that, “A wise and frugal government … shall leave [men] otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits
of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor
the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.”
According to Jefferson, a good government does not take from those who work and earn money to give to those who do not. He never says not to give to those who are in need. He simply stated that this is not the role of government. According to Jefferson, “Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare..."
It is not within the scope of congress or our government to provide for general welfare of it's citizens and yet we currently have an entire section of our government that does nothing but that. To do this a government would need, what seemed to Jefferson, unlimited powers and more then likely an equal amount of resources. Since we as a country are determined to have our government assume these responsibilities we must also realize that those resources are taken directly from us. More importantly and even more disturbing is that the government must get its power to do this by taking it from us along with outr paychecks.
James Madison
James Madison had strong feelings about this as well. According to him, “With respect to the two words ‘general welfare,’ I have always regarded
them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take
them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the
Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not
contemplated by its creators.”
This means that Madison was against the idea of a system governed by our Constitution that provided for "general welfare." To do so would change the very nature of the Constitution into something that not even it's authors would recognize. This is a strong statement against what our country is currently doing.
If that were not clear enough he also wrote that, "Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.” And yet our politicians now run entire campaigns completely on how they are going to use the money of the rich to help those less fortunate. That sounds a lot like charity to me.
The idea that we must provide health care to those who need it, can't afford it or who are too lazy to work for it, sounds a lot like charity to me. Bad charity, but charity none the less.
Philanthropy in Government
Philanthropy is not a function of our government, nor should it ever be. There are many who like to point out that the invention of government intervention has squelched the human initiative to help his fellow man. Charitable giving dropped after both the beginning of the New Deal and the Great Society programs. The government involvement as, for some reason, caused others to stop giving.
There are many reasons why this could be. One of the more popular theories is that one might think, "if the government is going to take it from me anyway and give it to them, then why should I give at all?" But there's really no way to point to one thought and say that's why.
The biggest point is the use of the funds. Is it possible to eliminate poverty? I do not believe so. It would be nice if it were, but no one has found a way to do it in all of human history. I highly doubt that a new policy change in our government will make much of a difference.
The government is known for it's ability to mismanage money, go into debt and add unnecessary policies and procedures that are costly. If I was hiring a man to manage my finances, I would not hire the man who ran a company millions of dollars in debt. Our government does not manage our tax dollars well and that point has never been more clear. Why would we allow them to use those same tax dollars to "help" those in need.
If I donated ten thousand dollars to a charity and then found out that the director of that charity had their own private jet, expense account, private secretary, "company" car etc. I would stop donating to that charity. Obviously a large portion of my money is going to someone who clearly doesn't need charity. Why don't people get equally get upset about the government creating and expending the overhead costs of our imposed charitable tax dollars?
We fail to use the same logic when thinking about our government that we use in everyday life with everything else.
The point is that the more the government tries to mandate helping others, the less others really get help.
Atlas
Ayn Rand wrote a book called Atlas Shrugged. It's been a best seller multiple times and it is a great thought experiment. What if those who were the movers and shakers of this country all decided to leave or quit?
We tend to get upset at the rich but really we are upset at the wrong people. I see on the news the contempt for the greedy oil companies and terrible big business tycoons. Some of that may be warranted. There are some who have money who are extremely unethical. Does that give the government the right to take away what they've earned?
Where is the outcry condemning those who have earned nothing and live off the government programs because they have learned how to manipulate the system? If a single mother gets her foodstamps taken away everyone cries injustice. No one asks why she doesn't have a job? Does she really need that much in food stamps? Did she also hit up the 5 food banks in town? Can she pass a drug test? What kind of values is she passing onto her children?
There is a cry of injustice when a woman we know nothing about gets a privilage taken from her that she never earned, but there is no cry of injustice when a man who has worked his way up from poverty to provide for his family for generations gets his wealth that he earned taken from him.
Russia was guilty of the same thing before it's ultimate doom and collapse. They did it under the name of Communism, we are doing it under the name of social justice. Same process, same properties, same results.
So What?
So what is my point? My point is that we as a nation have adopted an attitude of entitlement over work ethic. We no longer reward people for work and we no longer expect people to work. We are a country of over-consumers, but we are slowly losing our ability to produce. All this is brought to you by the government and those who ignorantly voted for our current politicians.
We live in a country where the government stopped a large resource provider and job provider because it didn't fit their perfect plan or their philosophy. The Keystone XL pipeline was rejected by our government even though it would have undoubtedly brought jobs and economic growth to this country.
Why? A big reason is the environmental concerns. I understand and believe firmly that we need to be good stewards of the environment. However the government is preventing growth for this reason without offering an alternate solution.
We live in a country that believes that everyone should get free health care and never earn any of it. The truth is that health care costs money. Those who work get money. Therefore if you want health care, get a job and pay for it. Are the costs high? Absolutely. Ever since the government got it's hands involved in the system costs have continued to skyrocket and they will only get higher with more regulation and government imposition.
Our educational system is the same with no promise of a good future. There will be a student loan bubble and it will burst bigger than the housing collapse could ever dream.
We live in a country that won't allow the companies they favor to collapse, instead they will prop them up with fake dollars printed on worthless paper to maintain the allusion of security.
We live in a country that won't allow a company to close it's doors because it's workers are being unreasonable. Because the fear is that too many will not have jobs. The reality is that if those who had the jobs worked hard and did a good job and accepted a reasonable compensation for their work, then the company wouldn't have been in financial trouble. Instead of letting them close the doors, the courts tried to force them to stay open.
Our government is too involved and too controlling. The freedom that we talk about these days is a modified freedom that comes with the bureaucratic interpretation of the week. The red tape jungle of Washington is what stands between us a true freedom.
I write this not because I'm bored or because I want to be heard. I write this because for the first time in my life I actually see doom on the horizon. For the first time I want to shout from a mountain top to warn people of the on coming flood. My only hope is that people, at least some people, will listen. My realistic side wonders if it's not already too late.
My entire life has been surrounded by music. My mother loved music and played it all the time, in the car, in the house and on a crappy tape player whenever we'd be outside. I'm thankful for that. I love music too and can really appreciate all kinds.
I started singing in church when I was just six or seven (If you'd like to hear the first time I believe Cathy Lorton still has it on tape). My mom made me take piano lessons when I was in elementary school. I took Saxophone Lessons in Jr. High. I was in a very good Choir in High School for four years. I've taken a few music theory classes. I've played the guitar for at least ten years now and have played and sang in numerous bands with a variety of purposes.
I love music. It's a part of who I am. With all that I've written to this point, you'll probably be shocked to learn that I can't read music. I guess I can a little, but not in any practical way.
Tonight I pulled out an old keyboard that a friend gave us a couple of years ago and I'm determined to be good at the piano for once in my life. I printed out some sheet music for a song that I like and began staring at the jumbled lines and dots that make up this so called music.
I can hear music, I can play music, I can feel music so why can't I read music? It's honestly very frustrating to me. I've had many teachers try and help me by learning little tricks here and there, but they've never seemed to stick in my brain.
When I look down at that sheet music I don't see notes on a page, I see dots and lines that are somehow supposed to mean something. Now if I sit there long enough, I can use the formulas that I've leaned over the years to slowly start to peck out the song in front of me. After about an hour tonight I got past the first page. But that's not really reading it, from there I just have to play it from memory. The notes on the page never translate to music to me.
There is a point to this babbling, just keep reading.
I've found that those who do get it, who can read the music off the page think less of those of us who can't. Through out my life they have always stressed to me the importance of being able to get this. They've always told me how easy it is and if I just worked harder I'd get it and then everything would be right with the world.
But that's not true. First of all, I'm not going to get it. My brain isn't wired to get it. In a way I'm glad about that. I've noticed that when many sit down at a piano and play the notes on the page they're doing nothing more than solving an algebra equation. They're using the formula they've learned to get the right answer. I know people who can read music, but can't play something from their heart. They can recreate what's been written on a page but they can never make music. I'm glad that I can make music. I'm glad that I can feel it in my soul.
So here's the point. I think that sometimes we (me included) religious elitists who think we know all of the biblical backgrounds, historical contexts, and theological formulas simply are solving an algebra equation to see if we can't get the right answer. Meanwhile there are those who are living out their deeply spiritual lives who could never articulate this life using anything biblical or theological. They don't know the right language or the right formulas. And we look down on them. We think that they're missing the point. We think that they're missing out on something great and grand when in reality they're living something great and grand, they're feeling something great and grand, they're making a spiritual symphony with every breath they breathe and we are missing it all.
God is not there to be studied and analyzed. God is there to walk with, to speak to, to sing to and to be heard. When you lock yourself in your study you aren't feeling Him. He is out in the world. He is in all of the places that you may never have dreamed or even feared to go. The sad thing is that there are others who are already there. They are living lives that they may not call spiritual or religious, but are far more spiritual than some of us have ever dreamed.
Sometimes it's time to stop quoting the bible. It's time to stop reading books and listening to sermons and it's time to live. It's time to feel God in this world that He has created with the people that He loves. It's time to stop recreating things that are already written and start making music in the world around us.
I came across this term recently in a post at www.jesusmanifesto.com. In this post, the author makes the point that Christians should consider whether or not it is appropriate, as believers in Christ and His Kingdom, to celebrate American holidays. He actually calls them America's "holy days." He is trying to make the point that America has a religion all it's own. I agree with the point that there is a very strong civil religion in America and it blurs the lines too often with true Christianity. The lie that this nation was "founded on Christianity" pervades the understanding of even the skeptic.
This post goes as far as to claim that this American mythology attempts to offer a new soteriology, one where soldiers have brought us freedom with the "ultimate sacrifice." These words were used by his priest before concluding mass with America the Beautiful.
This is my attempt to take up this challenge. I will consider this option and see if his argument is worthwhile or not. My initial reaction to this was that celebrating American holidays are not the same a celebrating religious holidays. There is a different motivation and a different reason for each.
Have the lines been blurred between American holidays and our Christian Holy days?
Many days that are significant or recognized in Christianity are now either National Holidays, or days celebrated in ways that are void of it's religious meaning. For example, Christmas, Easter, Mardi Gras, St. Patricks day, St. Valentines day, etc. Many people in America celebrate these days with no knowledge or even concern for their meaning or purpose. The same goes for days like Memorial day. The media does a good job of trying to force it down our throats why we celebrate these American holidays, but unfortunately the message doesn't get communicated to many. So for these people who don't understand or care why, there is no difference between the two categories. Unfortunately this group is a group that I believe is growing exponentially.
So for the common person in this growing group of indifferent people, there is no difference and the lines are clearly blurred. In some ways, by making Significant religious days National holidays, America itself is blurring the lines.
With more thought I can see why the author has some more issues. On the so-called "secular" side it is pretty hard to distinguish which holiday is which and why. What about the religious side?
The author of the post points out that his priest blurred the lines by ending Mass not with a Doxology or a Blessing, but with an American patriotic hymn. In many Protestant and a growing number of Roman Catholic churches you will find the American flag on the platform behind where the pastor or priest stands to deliver the the homily. This seems pretty Innocent, but it's not. There are a lot of churches now that you would be hard pressed to find a cross in the "sanctuary," but you can't move the freaking American flag or the pastor will get fired.
When we have songs in our hymnals like "America the Beautiful." We are equating that with all of our Hymns about God. Is that right? Is there something wrong with putting equal importance on America or our government as we do God within the walls of the Sanctuary? The lines are clearly being blurred on the religious side as well.
So What?
Is this a problem? If so what do we do? Do we abstain from celebrating non religious holidays so that the days that are special on the Christian calendar stand out as something more significant in our lives? Do we inform others? Do we simply take time to educate others on the days and their meanings? Do we do nothing at all?
I'm leaving this open. I have considered. I think there is something here, but I'm not sure that the answer offered is the one that we should take. More than anything else I want to spark thought and dialogue. Please respond to this. This is important. Please think about it and think about what should be done, if anything.
So I was driving home tonight from work and I immediately turned my radio to 720 AM to see if the Cubs were still playing. Ahh, the comforting voices of Pat and Ron telling me that Ryan Theriot was coming up to bat.
I love listening to Cubs games. Really I enjoy listening to just about any baseball game on the radio. There's just something nostalgic about the hole thing. It makes me feel like I'm living out the golden age of America.
I realized that there was a problem with the way I had been listening to the games lately. This will take a little bit of explaining for those of you who aren't baseball fans. First of all the cubs haven't won the World Series in a really long time (I won't get caught up in number). The past few years, the Cubs have had a really good and competitive team and they've been projected to win by a lot of baseball talking heads for the past three years. The good news for Cubs fans is that they've been really competitive.
This means that when I've been listening to the games I've been thinking about how this game will effect how the cubs are ranked. I've been thinking of how it effects their chances of making the playoffs and doing well in the playoffs. However, over the past month or so the Cubs completely fell apart and it looks like they may not make it into the playoffs at all.
I realized that listening tonight was different. It was the first time that I was listening to a game not wanting them to win simply because of how it ranked them. I just wanted them to win this game tonight. It was only about tonight, it was only about this game. I enjoyed it a lot more. If they lost it didn't really mean anything. I just enjoyed it.
I think that most of us have a problem. This problem has nothing to do with baseball. We live in a society that is all about status and getting ahead or making progress. Just like I had been listening to baseball games thinking about how it positioned my team for the future, most of us are living life the same way. We live each moment wondering how it's going to position us for what's next. I don't think that there's anything inherently wrong with this. The problem is that it prevents us from enjoying the moment. We don't enjoy life. We don't enjoy what's happening right now, because we're so focussed on what's happening next.
I'm a geek. No... really. I'm about to lose you hear so stick with me please and keep reading. I like Star Wars. In episode one, two of the Jedi's are standing in a room. The two Jedi's are Obi Wan Kenobi and Qui Gon Jinn. Obi Wan is thinking about some things that are going to take place and Qui Gon warns him not to do this. Obi Wan replies "But Master Yoda says to be mindful of the future." and Qui Gon replies, "But not at the expense of the present."
Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the present. This is a great philosophy. This is what I'm getting at
We are so concerned and worried about the future that we lose the present moments in life. This is wrong.
Jesus tells us to not worry about tomorrow. Most of us take this lightly, but I'm not sure that we should. We need to wrestle with this and understand what Jesus meant. We need to take Jesus seriously. Jesus' words are not always easy to digest and they don't always lead us to the conclusions that we had hoped for, but it's Jesus. Jesus doesn't always seem to make sense, but I've always found Him to be right, even when common sense dictates otherwise.
I wrote this in response to a blog that I read giving ideas for revisions to allow for the drinking of "de-alcoholized wine." These would've been revisions for the manual in the Church of the Nazarene. If you're not Nazarene don't think that this can't apply to you. Many American Protestants hold on to the same beliefs about alcohol. This is really for all Christians who hold on to this stance.
This is all absolutely ridiculous. The stance held by the denomination (as well as other protestant denominations) is completely pharisaical. I'm sorry but as I read the Bible, the pedagogical nature of the law has been fulfilled in Christ and is no longer the way things operate. Protestant Christians, at least in America, have not caught on. We're afraid people may sin so we make new laws that prohibit them from doing something that is not a sin.
I think if God wanted us to not drink alcoholic beverages He would have told us not to partake. More importantly if He didn't want us to partake, then He most definitely would not have used it as an element for the sacrament, Eucharist. God is clearly okay with me drinking alcohol, why is the Church of the Nazarene (and so many other Protestant Denominations) against it? Aren't we supposed to be on the same side as God? Instead we're on the same side as the Pharisees. We tell people that they can't be a member of our "holy club" if they partake of alcoholic beverages. We make them feel as if they can't be part of God's church, as if they're not Christians or something. We make up our own laws, rules and regulations to try to "help" people live holy lives. Our intent may be good, but it is still wrong. Instead all we really do is alienate a world that can't understand why we won't let them in when our own Bible doesn't condemn it and when our own God doesn't have a problem with it.
I am reminded of the words of Jesus, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces."
How do we think we know better than God?
I would conclude that we are the new Pharisees. The only problem with that is that they even saw no harm in drinking alcohol.
Wow! For those of you who followed the Derek Webb fiasco to the end... Congrats are in order. I did the best I could and was there compiling music at the very end of it. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, it's ok. Please keep reading!
One of my favorite Singer Songwriters is Derek Webb. He recently released an album called The Stockholm Syndrome. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this album that delayed it's release and ultimately resulted in two separate albums to appease the more conservative crowd.
The main song of controversy is titled What Matters More? I'll include the lyrics here for you to read and the video of the song.
You say you always treat people like you like to be I guess you love being hated for your sexuality You love when people put words in your mouth 'Bout what you believe, make you sound like a freak
'Cause if you really believe what you say you believe You wouldn't be so damn reckless with the words you speak Wouldn't silently consent when the liars speak Denyin' all the dyin' of the remedy
Tell me, brother, what matters more to you? Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?
If I can tell what's in your heart by what comes out of your mouth Then it sure looks to me like being straight is all it's about It looks like being hated for all the wrong things Like chasin' the wind while the pendulum swings
'Cause we can talk and debate until we're blue in the face About the language and tradition that he's comin' to save Meanwhile we sit just like we don't give a shit About 50,000 people who are dyin' today
Tell me, brother, what matters more to you? Tell me, sister, what matters more to you?
So the question is... What Matters More?
I've thought about this a lot, even before Derek released this album I had been pressed with these questions. Several months before I heard word of this song, I was listening to an old podcast of Rob Bell. In this particular sermon Rob is talking about a conversation that Jesus had with the Pharisees. During this conversation Jesus says
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness."
What is Jesus getting at? According to Rob, and I agree with him, Jesus is telling the Pharisees that they've gotten down the legal things. They know the do's and do not's of religion. Where they are lacking is in carrying out justice, showing mercy, having faith in God and His sovereignty. They've neglected the "weightier" issues. Some translations say that they've neglected the "more important" issues. Being agents of justice and showing people mercy are more important than tithing?!?! That seems to be what Jesus is saying. Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness are more important than the legal side of things. In fact it's this legalism that gets the Pharisees in so much trouble with Jesus.
What's important to note is that Jesus does not say that tithing is not important. It is important, in fact he goes on to say that we should to the weightier things without neglecting the others. We should do justice, show mercy without neglecting to obey those personal things that God has placed on us.
So what's my point? What do these have in common? The question that Derek asks is, "What matters more?" What matters more, the fact that there are gay people in our world or that children are starving to death? What matters more? That a new state has allowed for homosexual union, or that 50,000 people died yesterday and you didn't even shed a tear? He's not asking which one matters at all. He's asking which one matters MORE? I think that Jesus would say that the justice and mercy issues matter more. Saving the starving and diseased children.
Is that what we Christians think is more important?
I don't think that it is. Almost without fail each week I get a new e-mail in my inbox telling me to take some action against homosexuality. I either need to boycott Ford because they're advertising during a show that shows to guys kissing, or I need to write my congressman about some new law or bill that prevents people from carrying out hate crimes against homosexuals (That's another post entirely). More time, effort and money from Christians goes into a fight against homosexuals that is a one sided fight.
When I want to take action that will help prevent the spread of malaria I go to Bill Gates. That's not a Christian organization. When I want to take action that would help get clean drinking water to literally millions of people who don't have it, then I go to One.org. That's not a Christian organization.
We Christians have forgotten to concern ourselves with the things of Christ! We are so caught up in our Pharisee attitudes and our legalism that we don't show justice or mercy to a world that is in misery! A world that God loves, a world that Christ died for! His message and His gospel is not just a ticket to Heaven, but a call for a lifestyle that fights on the side of justice and mercy.
We "Christians" don't act like Christ! Hollywood is concerning themselves with the "more important" issues and yet we think that we have the right to call ourselves righteous in God's site. We think we have the right to say that we are Holy and living Holy lives simply because we are obeying the rules.
If that's what Holiness is than I, along with the Fathers of the Church have seriously misread the Bible.
So what matter's more to you as a Christian? What are you going to do? Where is your time, effort and money going to go?
There is one more quote from Derek that I would like to share. There is a verse in his song called This Too Shall Be Made Right.
I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door I join the oppressors of those who i choose to ignore I’m trading comfort for human life and that’s not just murder it’s suicide
Let's join together and concern oursleves with the more important matters, not neglecting the others.
