What Gets To Me

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

"What is it that GETS to you?" My wife and I are part of a young married couples' group that meets on Sunday mornings, and a couple Sundays ago, our leader asked us this question. We're about to start a new book - apparently the source of this question. I think it's called Divine Discontent, or else it's something like that and I think it's written by someone from Willow Creek. I haven't read any part of the book yet, so it's possible that the thoughts that follow will be completely unrelated to the gist of the book. Regardless, I've since been thinking about the question posed by our group leader. By this question, he meant, "What is it that provokes a righteous anger in you? What is it that just kills your heart when you see it?" I think for most people, the answer to this question falls in the arena of social injustice: poverty, rape, homelessness, hunger, racism, etc. These things all get to me. My soul longs for a renewed place where none of this crap of the world exists. But none of these issues were the first thing that came to my mind. The greatest hurt of my heart rather comes from a spiritual injustice: Christians who give my God a bad name. At the risk of sounding stuck in the 80's pop-rock scene, I think many Christians could take spiritual cues from the relational lyrics of Bon Jovi's song by a similar name.

This theme has been on my heart for a long time and will likely remain there. I've often noticed how many Christians (since I don't see people's hearts like God does, I'll be using this term to define true Christians and nominal Christians alike) have such a capacity to display behavior that eerily resembles that of the Biblical Pharisees. People have told me that this is a harsh parallel to draw, but I really don't think so. Until Jesus left us with documentation of their hypocrisy, (and even after), these were people who were greatly respected, who did all the right things. They were not a one-time phenomenon of evil whose ways disappeared from the Earth after the Bible was finished being written. They were most definitely not seen in this light by the larger community of their time.

I am saddened by Christians who put on a God-show as if the richer and more famous they become and the more converts they can win by their sensationalism, the closer they will come to heaven. I am frustrated by Christians who claim the name of Christ but make no substantial effort to seek or serve him as if by saying they believe in God and offering mealtime prayers, they have secured all the insurance their soul needs. And I am deeply hurt by Christians who go to church every week and sing songs of love and praise and then proceed to their Fellowship Hall where they share stories of gossip and condemnation.

I don't pretend to be above all this. I am guilty of all three of these offenses. I am a sinner saddened by other sinners. But all these hypocritical behaviors deeply affect my soul. Especially the latter. I am simply unable to understand how purity has any value without compassion. Where does a person's heart truly lie when they go to great lengths to keep themselves from sin and then frown upon those who fail to do likewise? Now, by no means am I arguing that sin should not be frowned upon by Christians, but you know that old adage - "Love the sinner, hate the sin"? Many Christians will proudly tout this phrase as their own social motto, but I wish every person of the church could see how many sinners feel deeply unloved by those same people.

I suppose the reason this hurts me so much is twofold: 1) By association, my God who is kind and worthy of all praise is being misrepresented to the world as a condescending, judgmental, rejector of those who haven't led a privileged and proper life. 2) So many people whom I love and wish the best for are utterly fooling themselves into thinking that they are okay with God. Again, I realize I cannot see the heart and I don't pretend to have the ability of sifting the sheep from the goats - neither do I intend to make such mental notes - but I'd be willing to bet that there are several established Christians in my own church who will be turned away from heaven. I'd also be willing to bet that some of the very people condemned by these Christians will find themselves in eternity with a loving God defending them. The last shall be first and the first shall be last.

It's just that I can't stomach someone who has the audacity to consider himself or herself better than someone else based on their own subjective view of the other's lifestyle. I just don't see how this sin is less severe than getting drunk, having extramarital sex, or doing drugs. A distinct parallel might be drawn to the Luke 18 parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. When a Christian welcomes their pastor into their home, but breaks off association with a friend who exposes himself as a homosexual, something is wrong. When a Christian hears a sermon about our responsibility to feed the hungry but determines that she can't afford to tithe, something is wrong. When a Christian joins youth ministry but closes his arms to the kids of the community who hurt the most, something is wrong. When a Christian claims to have love for those who are lost in despair but then proudly proclaims that she has never succumbed to drug use, something is wrong. And here's food for thought: If your response to all this is "he's right, those people need to fix their behavior", then you are the very person I am talking about. Not until we can admit to ourselves - I am messed up, I am the one who needs to hear this sermon - not until we throw this pride away, will we ever understand what it means to love others. When I look at the church, I see a remnant of incredible faithful followers of the true God and a multitude of self-righteous puffed up brothers and sisters who have become numb to true understanding. I wish I could see a community of the broken and unpretentious holding their arms wide open to even the scum of the world - a community where it's okay to admit the gross depravity of our lives and not be cast out with the rest of the despairing and honest, but instead be listened to, lifted up, and carried to renewal.

Jesus never condoned the lifestyle of the sinners he reached out to. He told them to "repent and sin no more". But he sure never forgot or shunned them. He made a distinction between the gross ugliness that infects us all and the human created in God's image along with the potential lying therein. Jesus helped the hurting and the lost to find renewal. The people he couldn't put up with were those who pretended to have it all together. A lot of us pretend to have it all together. But I'm willing to bet, in fact, I'm confident that Jesus would extend a long accepting embrace to even a Pharisee who is willing to fall to his knees.

A wise man I know once told me, "I'm an ass, you're an ass. We're all asses." Perhaps some would consider this statement crass. I don't. I think it's possibly the most valuable lesson a follower of Christ could ever learn. We're all on a journey and none of us have arrived yet. The prayer of my heart is that the church would determine love to be a higher virtue than propriety, and in doing so, become something that her head can be proud of.