Tuesday, December 4, 2012

You’re Trying Too Hard!

            It was a conversation I’ve had with several people before. I’m always cautious about it and feel the need to explain the meaning of the statement. But it really does appear true that some people try too hard to be good Christians. The way it came up was in a conversation with a young friend last week who was distraught over some impure motives she saw at work in her heart.
            Just to set the record straight, Becky (not her real name) is one of the finest and most genuine people I know. Everyone else in her family and the circle of friends who know her best would tell you the same. But that, you see, is the root of her problem. She is so authentic and earnest about things that she is on the verge of driving herself crazy! If the problem with some people is that they are devoid of introspection and conscience, hers is the opposite. She tries too hard.
            The gospel of Jesus is the good news that we have release from our past and hope for our future because of what he did. It is not the bad news that we might climb out of the pits we have dug for ourselves and find a way into God’s heart if we master all our character flaws and resist every temptation.
            Becky is too introspective, too self-critical, and too unwilling to give herself the benefit of the doubt she would give a total stranger. And it is making her miserable. Perhaps even spiritually neurotic. Jesus offered pardon and peace to his followers. Becky has turned his offer on its head and lives with a constant sense of judgment and fear. About the only thing I can think of that would be worse would be for her to decide she has conquered all her flaws. She just might turn into a self-righteous prig who couldn’t stand those of us who still struggle.
            Surely the better way is to walk with a lighter step and happier heart. Yes, we are sinful people – but people who have been loved, redeemed, and secured to God through the work of Christ. Yes, we still name and confess our sins – but with gratitude for pardon rather than in fear of rejection. Don’t presume on grace; be grateful for it. Don’t be cavalier about failure; confess it and move on.
            Remember the story in Luke 18 about the man who tried so hard to be holy and could name the steps of progress he had made? The other person in the story was anything but holy, but he went home at peace with God for confessing his unworthiness! His confessional and prayerful attitude seems to be at the heart of true holiness – the holiness that God himself seeks and honors in us.
            “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous” (1 John 2:1 NLT).
            So keep trying. Just don’t try too hard. It could be your downfall.

Monday, November 12, 2012

When Heroes Fall

 
            National news media and personal blogs were clogged with the breaking news last Friday related to David Petraeus. He is the Army general whose leadership had been relied upon by President Bush. He then became Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for President Obama. Brilliant and focused, there are people who believed he was presidential material for the near future.
            In the words of Saturday’s New York Times, “Few imagined that such a dazzling career would have so tawdry and so sudden a collapse.” Some news outlets even pulled up the biblical story of David and Bathsheba as a parallel.
            The news story Friday was that Mr. Petraeus had resigned his position as CIA Director because of an affair. The term “adultery” was used in headlines. And the issue of personal morality and public life came front and center again.
            The point of this short essay is not moralistic piling-on. David and Holly Petraeus have been married 38 years. Their marriage has survived multiple long deployments, generated two children who are now adults, and was regarded as a model for many in the military. I don’t know if they are people of faith. But I can hope and pray for repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation for the Petraeuses.
            The point is, instead, what reactions to the Petraeus story reveal about our moral climate in America. Countless people weighed in to the effect that a sexual affair between Petraeus and the married woman who had written his biography was really nobody’s business and should not have required his resignation.
            On this point, David Petraeus seems to have been more upright than his would-be defenders. The military code under which he served for 37 years still regards adultery as a crime when it stands to “bring discredit upon the armed forces.” Furthermore, an affair is a circumstance that stands to make an intelligence officer susceptible to blackmail.
            But the moral atmosphere of our time is terribly polluted. An ongoing poll in the Los Angeles Times asked if an affair should cost someone his career. When I checked the numbers, 75% said it should not. Of course, they did! Movie stars, athletes, clergy, politicians – countless examples can be cited where careers soared with documented infidelities a matter of public record. Some reports say President Obama asked Petraeus to reconsider his resignation. To quote the New York Times again, a “jaundiced Washington” just might have accepted it.
            Humans care far too much about our cars and hair, image and options; on the other hand, we can evidence far too little concern about our families and commitments, character and destinies. Something is terribly, terribly wrong with that reality! And this episode has the wrongdoer acting more honorably in some ways than those of us who have heard and reacted to the report.
            While praying for the Petraeuses, perhaps all of us should be more aware of our shared identity as sinful people who are vulnerable to temptation.
            “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall” (1 Cor 10:12 NLT).

Sunday, November 4, 2012

A Post-Election Reminder

      On Tuesday of this week, the contentious marathon called an American presidential election is scheduled to end. The curious system that has both a popular vote tally and a decisive electoral college total is scheduled to render a verdict in the Obama-Romney contest. Writing 48 hours in advance of Election Day, I can only hope the complexities of voting in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and challenges of other sorts do not leave the outcome in doubt.
If your candidate wins, can you assume that his every promise will be kept promptly and without fail? That his leadership will establish American prestige abroad and prosperity at home? That a stable peace is at hand? That we are secure from terrorism, health pandemic, and partisan gridlock in Washington? You know better. The election of neither candidate will turn the wasteland of our spiritual, economic, and political landscape into the Garden of Eden.
If your candidate loses, will you be demoralized with the thought that all is lost? That his position over the next four years is guaranteed to bring about the collapse of the American experiment, if not the ruin of the world? That he will turn out to be the Anti-Christ who will plunge the world into Armageddon? That it will be time to plan for a return to the Dark Ages or life in a cave? You know better. The election of neither candidate will destroy the country, shatter the global economy, or make it impossible for godly people to seek the Kingdom of God.
Perhaps that last sentence is the key to what believers need to remember late Tuesday night or in the definitive wee hours of Wednesday morning. I love the United States of America and cherish my citizenship here, but it is not my ultimate loyalty or hope for a meaningful life. This wonderful country is not the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God can neither be defeated by any of its failures or be kept from thriving in any corner of Planet Earth.
In the glory days of the Roman Empire, an apostle of Jesus Christ wrote this: “We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives,” he said. “And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior” (Philippians 3:20 NLT).
A believer’s ultimate allegiance – and hope – is in the reign of God. Her hope is not in a human system, political party, or leader; it is in Jesus Christ. Nothing can take his Savior’s promises from him – nor be so precious to him.
I’ve lived long enough to have heard it before: “This is the most important election in our lifetimes, and everything we hold sacred is at stake!”
Oh, I hope not. While every election is important and has consequences, God will still be sovereign over his universe this Wednesday morning. And nothing so valuable as what he has already given us in Christ will have been gained or lost through whatever happens with Tuesday’s vote.
Between Election Day and Jesus’ Return, honor the dignity of your fellow-human beings. Stay closely connected to your Christian community. Worship God. Show respect to your government. (My paraphrase of 1 Peter 2:17.)

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Civil Discourse

 
In every election cycle I can recall, the talking heads of TV news have discussed “negative campaign ads” and “harsh rhetoric.” Even before the Biden-Ryan sparring match and the more antagonistic tone of the second Obama-Romney exchange, Dan Rather had dubbed this election season “the worst.”
It probably isn’t. In the John Adams versus Thomas Jefferson election of 1800, then-President Adams’ camp called Jefferson an atheist, a libertine, and a coward; they stumped with the claim that the election offered a choice between “God and a religious president, or Jefferson and no God!” The rumor was that Jefferson would gather and burn all the Bibles upon his second inauguration.
In response, then-Vice President Jefferson – it is the only time in U.S. history a sitting president and vice president ran against each other – countered in kind. His surrogates blasted Adams for his “hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman.” Once friends, the two became such again in post-election days.
More examples can be given, but this illustrates that mud-slinging and vitriol are anything but novel in political campaigns. And the politicians may have learned it from the clergy in the American colonies. Some of the anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic language that rang from pulpits went far beyond “insensitive.” It was crude, inflammatory, and wicked. “Whore of Babylon,” “Christ-killers,” and “Anti-Christ” – these are some of the many epithets used from pulpits to poison minds and prejudice hearts. The Ku Klux Klan had roots in those pulpits.
So what’s the point here? It certainly isn’t to minimize or excuse the blood sport that American political campaigns has turned into. It is simply to put what is happening now into historical perspective. It is also to say that politics isn’t the only sphere of life where the verbal bombast has become reckless and injurious.
It is time for all of us to step back. Take a deep breath. Look at politicians and preachers, family members and friends, co-workers and strangers through more respectful eyes. Stop trying to one-up everybody with a snappy – if also insulting and demeaning – one-liner. Strive for civility over disrespect.
Here is a worthy goal for all of us to embrace: “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT).

Monday, October 15, 2012

Life as a 14-Year-Old

       Fourteen should be a wonderful, carefree year in a child’s life. Actually, being 14 is more nearly part of the bridge between being a child and becoming an adult. At so tender an age, a degree of maturity might well be making a child aware of the world and its ills; at that age, however, there should be no sense of being an adult who is responsible for fixing the world’s misfortunes and evils.
Little boys whose voices occasionally crack now should have nothing greater to agonize over than that. Little girls who are laying aside their dolls should have nothing greater to fret over than those boys whose voices are starting to crack.
Malala Yousafzai is only 14, and she seems to be something of an exception. In her home country of Pakistan first, then eventually at an international level, she has become an activist for education. More specifically, she has pleaded for adults in her part of the world to make education more widely available to girls.
Malala has the misfortune of living in a place where a rigid fundamentalist religion claims that girls should not receive the education boys are entitled to have. After all, as women they will remain answerable to their fathers, brothers, and husbands – with very few personal rights. They will be required to be subservient and docile. Cover their faces. Defer to men. Keep their mouths shut.
Today Malala is fighting for her life in a military hospital in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Doctors give her slightly more than a 50-50 chance of survival. If she recovers, the degree of permanent damage is uncertain.
Last week, armed men stopped the school bus on which she was riding, called for her by name, and shot her in the head and neck. According to a spokesman for the Taliban – the fundamentalist Muslim group that eagerly claimed “credit” for the deed – it was Malala’s fault. And the fault of her father.
She dared go to school, and her father had permitted it. In the face of such “secular-minded” and “pro-West” behavior, said the spokesman, reverent and devout Taliban shooters were “forced to take this extreme step.” If Malala survives, he said, more righteous warriors will be dispatched to finish the job.
That the attempted murder of a child happened in the name of religion only makes this story more disgraceful. The “righteous warrior” who would commit such an atrocity is evil beyond imagination. He is the right arm of Satan himself.
            Islam condemns such behavior. So does Christianity. For that matter, so do atheists. All rational people recognize true evil for what it is – whether perpetrated by Muslims or Christians or Jews, by far right or far left.
            People of goodwill from all backgrounds must stand up for freedom of expression, justice for minorities, rights for women, and protection of children.
            An ancient Hebrew prophet speaks eloquently to all religious people who miss the point of their religion: “I hate all your show and pretense – the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. . . . I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living” (Amos 5:21-24 NLT).
            Enough with making excuses for hatred. It is time for all nations and tribes, religions and parties to affirm human dignity, respect for one another, and love.
Pray for Malala. And pray for us all to surmount our most sordid impulses.

Monday, October 1, 2012

I’ll Throw Myself on His Mercy!

 
In his book, Holiness by Grace, Bryan Chapell relates a version of an old tale about a man who died and came face to face with Gabriel at heaven’s gate.
“Here’s how this works,” the angel-gatekeeper began his explanation of entrance protocol. “You need 100 points to make it into heaven. So tell me all the good things you’ve ever done, and I’ll tell you what they are worth.”
“Okay,” the man said – and began with his biggest and best claim. “I was married to the same women for 50 years and never once cheated on her – not even in my heart!”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” said Gabriel. “Wonderful! That’s worth three points.”
“Only three points?” the man gulped incredulously. “Well, I attended church all my life. I was a deacon and, after a while, an elder in my church. And, by the way, I gave well beyond a tithe of my income – and countless hours of service.”
“Good, good,” said the angel. “All that’s certainly worth a point.”
“One point?” said the man – his eyes beginning to show a bit of panic. “How about this: I opened a shelter for homeless people in my city and fed needy people by the hundreds during the holidays.”
“Oh, fantastic, that’s good for two points,” offered Gabriel, not even looking up from his notepad.
“Two points!” cried the man in utter desperation. “Two points? At the rate I’m going, this is hopeless. The only chance I have of getting into heaven is by the sheer grace of God! I’ll have to throw myself on the mercy of his heavenly court.”
“Come right in!” said the angel who knew the heart of Father, Son, and Spirit.
Chapell’s story and my adaptation of it are purely apocryphal. There is no “point system” by which we will be graded at heaven’s gate. But the punch line of the story is precisely correct. The only hope any human has – even the best among us – is not in herself but in Christ. His love for us. His amazing grace.
The place where God expects for this message to be communicated about his heart and perfect will is the community of faith called the church. More than that, the church is the place where people who have received grace learn to give it now to others. Grace, you see, is not a personal gift to be received and relished in private moments. It is the free gift of God to his children and is to be passed along to all others who need the same redemptive, healing mercy in their lives.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Tyrannized by Your Feelings?

 
            Have you noticed how many people appear to be living at the tyranny of their feelings these days? “I’m just not sure how I feel about that.” “If she doesn’t do her fair share, I don’t feel I should have to honor my promise.” “I know it wasn’t right, but I don’t feel anyone should fault me for what I did.”
            God made us in his own image so we would not have to be ruled by our volatile emotions. Sometimes doing the right thing means staying with a commitment after a warm and fuzzy feeling has vanished. And that can range from one’s wedding vows to his word to a friend to a verbal offer about a price.
            It takes holy resolve to escape the enslavement that comes of being tossed about by whim, fancy, or feeling. So think about these options for today.
            Today I will live by faith. I don’t know what lies ahead or what surprises may come to me today. But I know God has promised to be with me to strengthen, guide, and deliver me. By faith, I claim that promise and will live this day in confidence. There is nothing I will face today that God and I cannot handle – together. It isn’t self-confidence that will get me through; it is God-confidence.
            Today I will live in hope. Each day has its own supply of troublesome things, so I need not go borrowing from tomorrow. In fact, I rejoice at the thought of tomorrow because of the promises God has attached to my future. I will not fear failure, for God has promised to work all things for good in the lives of those who love him. I know where my journey ends, and neither life nor death nor anything in all creation can separate me from God’s love extended to me in Christ.
            Today I will live in love. The bane of human existence is a jealous, cynical, hateful spirit. I will not allow those toxic attitudes to dominate my life. Instead, I will consciously imitate Jesus’ example of loving people – even the ones I don’t like – by turning the other cheek and returning good for evil.
            Regardless of how you may feel about certain situations today, you have the marvelous power to choose to live at a higher level. So don’t be ruled by your fickle feelings. God made you for better things.
            “Foolish people tend to follow their own impulses, but those who are wise listen to good counsel” (Proverbs 12:15).

Monday, September 17, 2012

Love Is Not a Brick

             If Jesus and Mohammed were entering a warm building on a freezing-cold day, who should go inside first? If Moses and the Buddha were late to a dinner and there was only one veggie burger left, who would be faster to grab for it and take a bite? Brian McLaren’s latest book has me raising these strange questions.
            Before I dare to suggest a possible answer, let me be clear about my reason for daring to ask this question about primacy, honor, and deference among these notable figures of major world religions. The followers of these spiritual guides have denigrated, bullied, maligned, damned, insulted, bombed, exiled, decapitated, judged, disemboweled, raped, assigned to hell, and otherwise been less than accommodating to one another. As they committed such evil acts, they claimed to be honoring their leaders and serving their religions.
            Even the people who are most distant from all religion and who would tell you in a heartbeat they want nothing to do with it know that these teachers emphasize charity and kindness. They tell their disciples that murder is evil and that force should be used only – if ever – with reluctance and restraint. They quote their leaders’ words to the effect that humans should love each other.
            So why did some Christians adopt a burning cross as their symbol for hatred of blacks, Jews, and Catholics? Why did some Catholics murder Protestants (and vice versa) in Northern Ireland? Why did some Muslims cry “Allah is great!” as they flew jetliners into the Twin Towers? Why are some priests pedophiles, some evangelists thieves and womanizers, some imams advocates of anti-American violence, some . . . You’ve gotten the point by now, haven’t you?
            Love is not a brick. It is not about being first, proving others wrong, and demanding primacy – or else! It is not about violence initiated or retaliation for violence suffered. It is, at least in Christian teaching, about patience, kindness, and restraint. While love rejoices in truth and celebrates what is holy, it does not impose its view of truth by force or coerce what it regards as holy on others.
            Back now to the question about going through the door first or eating the veggie burger. What would happen in those scenarios? My honest best guess is that each would insist on deferring to the other! “Please, go inside and get warm.” “Please, take the food; I insist.” Or, perhaps even better: “We can share this.”
            I am a Christian. I believe Jesus is the Son of God and Redeemer of the World. But I refuse to hate, defame, or mistreat a Muslim, atheist, Jew, Sikh, animist, or miscreant Christian. I believe the Bible’s ethical teachings are correct, but I will not hate, damn, insult, or ill-treat an abortionist, homosexual, or deacon who is having an affair with a Sunday School teacher.
            I see you – whoever you are – as one of God’s wonderful creatures in whom he has invested himself, for whom he has extended himself over time, and for whom he died. You do not have to dress like me, speak my language, or share my beliefs. Not only will I not hate you, but I want to know and understand you.
            Respect for others is neither compromise nor apostasy. It is love.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Faith and Traffic Lights


I heard the apocryphal tale of a good citizen who was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman. The light at the intersection in front of their cars turned yellow. The good citizen did the right thing by stopping at the crosswalk – even though he probably could have beaten the red light by gunning it through the intersection. The second driver wasn’t pleased.
The tailgating woman hit the roof – and her horn. She was screaming in frustration because she had missed her chance to get through the yellow light. As she was still in mid-rant – alternately pounding the steering wheel and gesturing to the fellow in front of her – she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer.
The officer told her to exit her car with her hands up. He put handcuffs on her. He took her to the police station, where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a police captain approached the cell and opened the door.
The woman was escorted back to the booking desk, where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, “I’m very sorry for my mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cursing a blue streak. Then I noticed the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ and ‘Follow Me to Sunday School’ bumper stickers, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed the car couldn’t be yours and that you had stolen it. I made an honest mistake.”
Ouch! Somewhere through the centuries, the idea has gained currency that says we can be Christians in the same way most people are Democrats and Republicans, Rotarians and Lions. We show up for meetings, pay our dues, and wear the insignia. For the most part, however, it is acceptable to be “just like everybody else.” We’re devout Christians on Sunday mornings, but we curse or flirt or cheat or tell racist jokes the other six and a half days of the week.
We have so institutionalized the Christian faith that membership has come to count for conversion. It isn’t just Vito Corleone of “Godfather” fame who could live as a criminal so long as he attended Mass and gave gifts to his church.
If faith is more than self-delusion, it will be reflected in all the routine and ordinary events of life. Even at traffic lights.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Getting Clear about Holiness

      The human vocabulary shapes the human race. The words we choose and the meanings we assign to them become our frame of reference. They build the world we inhabit, and they either empower or limit us for how we live there. The same thing is certainly true of the vocabulary of Christ’s followers.
            A very practical application of this fact can be seen in the common use of the term “holy.” For one thing, I suspect it is a term Christians use more often than non-Christians. My fear is that we use it too narrowly and thus improperly.
            Most of us have been told that the word “holy” means sanctified (not very helpful!) or set apart for God (better). Thus we have been tempted to think in terms of the family china that is “set apart” for special occasions and can’t be set out every single day for just anybody who happens along. And the most specific lifestyle examples of holiness tend to focus on moralistic issues – keeping oneself “separated” from the dark and dirty things of life.
            While I don’t want to deny the element of truth found in that explanation, I do want to claim that represents a narrow and misleading view of holiness.
            When Scripture cites God’s command to “Be holy because I am holy,” we should not think so much of being set apart and kept for special events as we should have visions of engagement, active involvement with life, and connections with people that make their lives better and happier. In other words, I am trying to learn to think of holiness as something active rather than passive, not as a moralistic withdrawal from the world but as redemptive involvement with it.
            Jesus shows the meaning of holiness in his incarnation. Across history, God had been actively engaged in communicating with humans and acting to make the world better. Finally, the divine word was made flesh in Jesus – the Jesus who did not live in a mountain retreat but among people who needed his help.
            Holiness isn’t the rigid moralism of a thousand “don’ts” so much as the infinite “do’s” that can make life better. Jesus explained, for example, that “Do not commit adultery” actually calls us to build wholesome and holy relationships and “Do not bear false witness” has the intent of calling us to be totally honest. So being holy is less about what scared people avoid than what changed people do.
            As a plant worker, student, kindergarten teacher, lawyer, father, neighbor, spouse, or momentary presence in a stranger’s life, your call to holiness is a very practical challenge to make others’ lives better, fuller, happier, and more aware of God’s loving concern for them because you are in their world.
            “As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness” (1 Peter 1:15 MSG).
            A holiness that positively energizes God should do no less for his people.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

To Tell the Truth

            Truth-telling seems to be a lost art in our world, but it is at the very heart of what is required to make a society healthy, safe, and prosperous.
            Students cheat on exams and papers at their schools and colleges; schools and colleges then lie to accrediting agencies about their student GPAs or job placement rates. Journalists get caught and have to confess to making up quotes from persons they never interviewed; a husband or wife gets caught and has to confess to all the lies told over time to hide a long-standing affair.
            We appoint committees and blue-ribbon panels to investigate the adequacy of regulatory mechanisms for Wall Street. We put compliance officers in place for businesses of all types. One writer claims his research on American corporate life shows that somewhere between ten and twenty percent of the payroll of the typical corporation is spent for people whose job it is to watch its own employees, its suppliers, and its customers for fraud.
            Truth-telling as a way of life cannot be crated by laws, codes of ethics, stiff fines, and jail terms. Personal integrity as a way of life comes about only from the soul of a man or woman with character.
            If I lie to you, I demean you as a person – deliberately misrepresenting the facts or withholding from you something you have the right to know. Thus the paternalism of some physicians or families to a patient who is seriously ill.
            If I lie to you, I am robbing you of your freedom – forcing you to make decisions on the basis of false or misleading information. Thus the tactics of some salespersons or televangelists.
            If I lie to you, I am arrogant in the extreme – playing a role which says I have the right to decide when you should be given full-enough information to make your own informed decision and when I should make that decision for you instead. Thus the strategy of certain political or religious leaders that puts others at jeopardy for the sake of some end-justifies-the-means scheme.
            If I lie to you, I deny my relationship to God as the father of my spirit – and identify myself with Satan, who is the father of all lies.
            It isn’t a new problem. In Jesus’ time, people played games with truth-telling too. “Swearing” by one’s one head, Jerusalem, or heaven was less binding than an oath taken with God’s own name. The issue wasn’t vowing to speak truthfully in court but simple, straightforward honesty in the daily routine.
“Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. . . . Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything more is from the evil one” (Matthew 5:34-37 NLT).
Jesus’ words still mark the path that is right for us to travel today.

Monday, August 6, 2012

“If You Died Tonight, Would You . . .”


            My guess is that you can finish the headline of this essay. It is the opening line used for millions of evangelistic conversations. People going door to door. Kids on the beach. Bosses or workers in offices. Total strangers on subways or busses. “If you died tonight, would you go to heaven or hell?”
            I don’t recall ever using that approach with a stranger. I’m not even sure I’ve used it with people I know reasonably well. It isn’t that I want to fuss with people who use that approach, for I’m sure there will be people with Christ forever because someone used that line to get them to thinking about salvation.
            It’s just that most of us aren’t going to die tonight or tomorrow. We’ll live another few days and weeks, perhaps months and years. That’s why I think a better question might be this: “If you wake up tomorrow, do you have a clear plan for using the day to honor Christ by the way you will use it?”
            Think about it. When Jesus talked about what would happen after death, he asked people to think about what they had done for people who were sick, cold, hungry, and homeless. He even wanted to know if they had gone to people who were serving jail sentences. He didn’t ask about the sorts of things we tend to have on our lists. He wanted to know about the fruits of righteousness.
            Jesus clearly believed what his brother in the flesh wrote: “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’ – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” (James 2:14-17 NLT).
            See there? No mention of the Sinner’s Prayer, baptism, or church attendance – whether Sunday or special services. The focus for Jesus and James wasn’t one-time or special events. It was about a type of faith that went so deep that it actually transforms the person who has it. It makes her into a generous and sympathetic person. It produces integrity in his business dealings and fidelity to his family. It makes others glad they get to be around them.
            So let’s assume that you aren’t going to die tonight. What is in your plan for tomorrow that would count as evidence you’d have gone to heaven if you had?

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Now Come the Olympic Games

 
            The headline stories of the past month have been child abuse, college athletics, and murder in a theater complex. During the same period but relegated to the bottom of the front page have been the Syrian civil war, the American presidential race, and the ongoing global financial crisis.
            Now the lead stories are from London. The Queen of England does a cameo role with cinema’s James Bond, and Paul McCartney sings rock’s quintessential nah, nah, nah, nahs of Hey Jude. Some 10,500 athletes are competing in the official events. Favorites fail; unknowns triumph. Heart-warming stories emerge – like that of a legally blind South Korean archer winning the gold medal and setting a world record in the process or an American cancer survivor.
            So which is it? Murder or games? Syrian shelling or spectacular fireworks? Royalty and superstars or executioners and monsters? Should you and I fall on our faces in tears or stand up to cheer? Do the contrasts confuse you?
            This is life! Reality follows no script. There is – and always will be – a random mix of good and evil, fine fortune and unwarranted grief. We could wish for happy endings to every story, but life just doesn’t work that way. Maybe the worst thing of all is that some people think that there is a script and that people are either “getting what they deserve” or “living out the will of God.”
            The truth of the matter is very, very different. Most of what happens in this world is not the will of God, but our goal must be to react to everything in a way that honors his will for humanity. People aren’t always getting what they deserve, or we can’t make sense of Joseph in an Egyptian prison or Jesus on a Roman cross. History is replete with pious martyrs in graves and evil tyrants on thrones.
            It must be this way. Life now is a probationary and testing time; heaven comes at the end and as the reward for faith. If everything “worked right” for those who are Christians, we’d all be Christians just to avoid the hassle and stress. If suffering were always and only one’s “just desserts,” why should we feel sympathy or show kindness rather than kicking her while she’s already down?
            If you’re into the Olympic Games or long walks or family dinners, enjoy. Be grateful, and share the delight. If you are walking through a dark valley of illness or bankruptcy or loneliness, mourn. Be humble, and ask God for strength.
            Life is a mysterious mix that refuses to yield to bumper-sticker solutions. Your situation today neither tells God’s opinion of you nor reveals your worth as a man or woman in his image. It is simply what it is. How you choose to deal with it translates your faith into deeds and defines your relationship with God.
            “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12 NIV).

Monday, July 9, 2012

Shall We Bully the Bullies?

 
            Bullying has become a topic of national concern. Some of the conversation may be overblown, for who doesn’t come in for some ribbing over his big ears, her first pair of eyeglasses, or a crush on the girl in his Sunday School class?     
But bullying crosses a line that is pretty clear and obvious. If it started as “good-natured fun,” it has progressed now to the point of bringing anger or tears to the surface. Past that point, the razzing or teasing has become mean-spirited. It is being used to wound or humiliate. Bullying is tripping, shoving, or hitting someone to inflict physical harm. It is mean-spirited taunting that inflicts emotional pain. It is gossiping or lying to humiliate or exclude someone.
            Today’s highly disconnected world of people who “connect” through social media can be especially cruel. Fragile persons who have been mocked and taunted via cruel postings have taken their lives as a result of such behavior.
            One of the worst bullying episodes of late involved a 68-year-old grandmother and bus monitor who was targeted by a posse of junior high boys on a school bus. Karen Klein was verbally assaulted for ten minutes or more with cruel affronts ranging from her weight to her son’s suicide some ten years ago. The video of their taunts and sneers went viral on YouTube.
            Guess what? The bullies immediately became the targets of vindictive taunts themselves. They have been reaping what they sowed, all right. Here are just a few posts about the merciless mob that attacked Ms. Klein:
  • “These kids need to be found and have their #@*% teeth knocked out.”
  • “These punks are already lost causes. Their parents are worthless, incompetents who should never have been allowed to breed.”
  • “Please, can we lock these punks in a room with Jerry Sandusky ASAP!!!”
But what about this whole business of tit-for-tat and putting it back in their faces? So long as verbal abuse, malicious threats, and physical violence are met with more of the same, the vicious cycle is never going to end.
I hope the school officials and parents punished the boys appropriately and that they saw the error of their ways and apologized. They shouldn’t get by with it. Having said that, it’s amazing how self-righteous and judgmental all of us are tempted to be when something like this happens. I am bad at it. I am too quick to judge the people who judge and to be hateful with folks who have been hateful.
Lord, forgive our foolish ways; teach us the ways of peace. Help us neither to insult nor to retaliate, neither to bully nor to bully the bullies. Instead, help us to hear this word above the temptation: “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it” (1 Peter 3:9 NLT).

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Rise of the “Nones”


Human beings are spiritual beings. We speak freely of our minds, hearts, or spirits – knowing full well that we aren’t talking about physical organs. Maybe you prefer the term personality or character. But you know these terms are more than alternate ways to refer to the brain or to a set of bodily processes.
Religion is not serving our spiritual lives very well these days. Don’t believe it? The March 12 issue of Time cited “The Rise of the Nones” as one of the ten ideas changing the lives of Americans. “The fastest-growing religious group in the U.S. is the category of people who say they have no religious affiliation. Sometimes called ‘the nones’ by social scientists, their numbers have more than doubled since 1990; major surveys put them at 16% of the population.”
Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. offers this explanation: “Religion has become an ugly thing. People of faith usually respond to that ugliness – by which I mean a seemingly endless cycle of scandal, controversy, hypocrisy, violence and TV preachers saying idiotic things – in one of two ways. Either they defend it – making them part of the problem – or they regard it as a series of isolated, albeit unfortunate, episodes. But irreligious people do neither.”
He is correct. So, if you are a Christian, you would be wiser simply to admit the point. Be embarrassed over it. Apologize for it. Then ask God both to forgive you of any part you have had in scandal, hypocrisy, or offense and to help the people who call themselves his children to act more like their father.
The problem isn’t new. Old Testament prophets lamented the fact that people were putting attendance at religious events in the place of integrity and gifts to good works in the place of compassion to their neighbors. So Amos and Isaiah spoke for the Lord to say, “I cannot bear your evil assemblies. . . . Even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen” (Isaiah 1:13-15).
Jesus made the same point about religion in his day. So why do we still not get it? Why does “organized religion” still drive people away from God?
If religion is getting in the way of your quest for God, just remember that God and religion are not the same. Please don’t give up on him because of us.
“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows” (Isaiah 1:17 NLT).
That would be a beautiful alternative to “religion” as too many know it.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The Root of the Problem

 
Physicians are trained to trace symptoms to their root causes. Then it is the root cause – not just a presenting symptom – that gets treated. We can all be grateful for that. What would happen, for example, if headaches simply were prescribed aspirin and belly aches got antacids without further tests?
The obvious answer is that many people would die from the serious underlying diseases behind their relatively minor symptoms. Symptoms are like the red lights that appear on the instrument panel of your car. Don’t smash the annoying light. Change the oil or find out why the engine is overheating. To focus on the symptoms rather than what is behind them just isn’t very smart.
Without wanting to be unkind, let me try to be clear. We human beings aren’t terribly responsible when it comes to the basics of living. Forget stomachaches for a minute. Let’s talk about financial responsibility, intact families, or spiritual life. Are we treating symptoms or addressing root issues?
A single mom with two children explained to me why she needed a vacation with her girlfriends. “I’m so stressed out about money!” she said. “My credit card is maxed out, and I am a month behind on my rent. I’ve just got to have a break.” My suggestion was that she forget the vacation, put the money she had saved for it to catch up her rent, and start paying down her credit card by taking a sandwich to work rather than eating lunch at restaurants.
Her problem wasn’t stress. It was debt – needless, inexcusable debt that she could take steps to eliminate. She took the advice. She tells me I was a real friend to her by insisting she treat the root problem rather than the symptom.
It’s not that different with trouble in a marriage or a dry spiritual life. “We’re not happy and don’t laugh like we used to. Maybe we should take a trip together – a second honeymoon, so to speak, and reconnect.” No. Find a competent counselor both of you trust, get honest about the things that have broken down, and do your part to try to rebuild the relationship. Get to the root of things.
It’s a bit like the fellow who kept telling me he couldn’t pray, didn’t like to read the Bible, and hated going to church. I knew enough of what was going on to ask the right questions. So he finally started coming clean about the affair and the drugs. It was the beginning of the healing of his spiritual life. He quit talking about trouble praying and not liking church and faced up to an out-of-control life.
Symptoms are helpful things. They let us know something isn’t working right and invite us to seek the root cause. Then, with the real issues named and addressed, it’s amazing how quickly the symptoms begin to resolve.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Real Change Takes Time


       Did you hear the one about the country bumpkin who took his family to the big city for the first time? Lost in a strange place, he stopped in front of a multi-story hotel building. Father and son went inside to get some directions.
            Standing in the lobby, they were looking around for someone to ask. They spied a kind-looking old man with a cane and started toward him. They drew back, though, when the wall opened up for him! They watched in amazement as the wall closed, numbers above the opening grew larger then smaller, and the doors opened again. Out came a young man in confident stride and business suit. “Son, wait right here,” said the farmer. “I’m going to get in that thing!”
            All of us could wish change came so quickly and so painlessly. I’d rather lose 20 pounds with a pill than deny myself extra helpings or desserts and begin to exercise. Some people prefer to saddle themselves with debt to buy a house full of furniture rather than buy furniture as they can afford it or to buy a new car they could easily do without. And so the stories go. We want what we want – now.
            I even think I see a lot of anger in today’s world that is tied to the same thing. Petty people get mad at the good fortune of others. They want immediately what someone else attained over time. Immature people want the recognition and life status other people earned over years, but they want it on a silver platter – today.
            We laugh at the bumpkin who thought an elevator was a magic box that made old into young, stooped into sprightly, and plain into stylish. Maybe we should be laughing at ourselves. Going to college doesn’t make one wise. Driving an expensive car doesn’t confer refinement or personality. Living in an exclusive part of town says nothing about the happiness of the people who live in its newest and nicest house. And going to church doesn’t confer spirituality.
            Authentic change in looks, lifestyle, and personality takes place over time. If there is an outcome you’d like, the surest way to achieve it is not to waste your money on dangerous pills or to squander it on lottery tickets. Set a worthy goal, identify the incremental steps necessary to get there, and begin your journey. Know in advance that the wisdom, discipline, and understanding that come from the journey are equally as valuable as anything at its end.
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for,” said Jesus. “Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9 NLT).

Monday, May 28, 2012

Odessa Porterfield: In Memoriam


       I seldom use this space for personal or family comments. This week I beg your indulgence to say some things about a dear and beloved lady in my life who died peacefully in her sleep last week. She was my second mother, and I was listed as a foster child in her medical records.
       Odessa had turned 105 in December of last year. I had known her for approximately 62 of those years. She was my nurse and playmate, teacher and mentor, disciplinarian and encourager. There is no element of my early life this godly lady did not touch and mold. She knew and loved my wife. Then, although the miles had begun to separate us by then, she loved and enjoyed our children.
       As a sickly child who spent a lot of time in bed with regular bouts of pneumonia and assorted other respiratory ailments, my mother needed help with the constant care her child needed. With mother's work in the daytime and the night duty for my care, Odessa took care of me for six to eight to ten hours a day. I knew her well and loved her deeply. A major part of my hatred for racism surely traces to my love for this African-American woman of tender heart, joyful spirit, and Christ-like character.
            Typically too frail to play outside as a little boy, Odessa played Lone Ranger and Tonto with me in the house. With the padded arm of a couch for my horse, she and I chased down many a bad guy and brought him to justice!
       We found irony in the fact that our memories are rooted in West Tennessee but our lives have been lived near each other in Michigan for the last six years. Every visit to her daughter Elizabeth's house was special. Her mind stayed sharp, even as her body got weaker. I told her I wished she would try to forget some of the more embarrassing stories about her childhood ward that she seemed to take particular joy in sharing. She would only laugh – and tell another.
She knew my name and those of my brothers. But she never used them. She gave us names only she used of us. Mine was . . . Umm, maybe I should keep that to myself. Yep. I think I will. But that's what she’ll call me the next time I hear her voice. And we will worship together before the throne with a freedom we didn't have back in those pre-Civil Rights days.
       The resurrection will have given back to her everything time, age, and frailty took away – and provide so much more. “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!’ ” (Revelation 14:13 NLT).

Monday, May 21, 2012

It Didn’t Change Me


During my travels last weekend, I stayed at a truly elegant hotel. I can’t afford such places and never choose them for myself. But the largesse of friends told me to close my mouth, stop the protest, and enjoy myself. So I did. And the experience was one I will not be able to repeat anytime soon.
Such a nice place has history, of course. Part of the appeal to people who choose to stay there is that they are inhabiting space previously shared by the likes of European royalty, world-famous athletes, and rock superstars. Who knows? The person in a given room may be in the same room once used by a man or woman or family tonight’s overnight guest is occupying.
Let me spare you the expense. It isn’t worth it! When I got up the next morning, I was still just an ordinary citizen; there was no more royal blood in my veins that morning than when I went to bed. Neither did I have an athlete’s body or any sense of being able to hit a baseball out of the park in dead center field. And I certainly couldn’t sing any better. Why, I was just sure that my morning shower would have me singing in such fine form that somebody would be pounding on my door with a multi-million dollar recording contract in hand.
Okay. I’m just kidding. The trip and overnight in elegant surroundings didn’t make me lose my mind. I didn’t expect that occupying hallowed space would transform me into any of those things. Just being in a place once occupied or made distinctive by distinguished souls doesn’t transform anybody.
But you already know that. So what’s the point?
It seems to me that some people think they have a spiritual life just because they come from a certain religious tradition, are church members, or observe regular rituals associated with religion. No more than staying at the famous Adolphus Hotel turned me into Queen Elizabeth II, Babe Ruth, or Bono!
One of the most terrible satanic myths I know comes in forms such as “I am a Christian because I live in America” or “I am saved because I joined the church” or “Only the people in my church are true Christians and will go to heaven.” No more than being a member of a certain group kept King David from adultery or Judas from betraying Jesus or the church leader whose name comes to your mind right now from the moral and criminal behavior that landed him in jail.
The call of the biblical prophets rings true across the millennia:  it is not words, rituals, and claims that prove you are God’s child but family resemblance.
“Anyone who sets himself up as ‘religious’ by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world” (James 1:26-27 MSG).

Monday, May 14, 2012

Mother as Gatekeeper to Conscience


With Mother’s Day still on your mind, let me dare to state the obvious: Children who have the good fortune to interact with their mothers a lot develop healthier consciences. There is even solid scientific research to support what most people have long sensed on this point.
The human conscience is part of the likeness to God that is built into us by our Creator. It is the internal monitor for behavior. It approves or disapproves our actions, gives us assurance to proceed or warns us about dangers ahead. But a person's conscience is like a thermostat. Someone has to set it.
In a study done a decade ago now, toddlers were encouraged to imitate their mothers in such simple actions as playing tea party or tending to a stuffed animal. The researchers indexed the children in terms of their readiness to imitate what they observed. Then, in subsequent sessions, they evaluated those same young children as they were enticed with prizes for games they could win only by cheating or breaking an object that had some value to them.
Here is how the correlation worked: Toddlers who eagerly imitated their mothers were more likely to follow the rules and more likely to exhibit a sense of guilt when they broke something.
I'm not a psychologist, so I can't offer any meaningful analysis of the experiment or how it was conducted. I'm just an ordinary guy who remembers his mother's influence in his life. I have watched my own children interact with their mother. And I have cringed at some of the undisciplined behavior I have seen in kids who seem to feel no guilt or remorse for irresponsible things they do.
The furor over “attachment parenting” explored in this week’s Time magazine article largely misses the point. It isn’t how long a child is breast-fed or put in a sling versus a bouncy seat; it is consistent and nurturing relationships with parents that create security and emotional health.
Maybe the fact that I didn't want my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Whaley, to tell my mother about the words she heard me using on the playground that day is evidence to support what the psychologists have since measured. Maybe all of us who had mothers who invested energy in our moral and spiritual development have thought at times, "I hope my mom never finds out about this!" They forced us to think about our behavior until we internalized some values of our own.
If you are wrestling with a tough ethical dilemma, it might help you to think about your mother for a few minutes – even though Mother’s Day has passed.
            “My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction” (Proverbs 1:8 NLT).

Monday, May 7, 2012

Better to Ask than Assume


The late Bill Love used to tell the story of a psychiatrist, engineer, and doctor who got lost in the Canadian woods. Stumbling on a trapper’s cabin but getting no response at the door, they went inside for shelter and waited for his return.
In the corner, on a crude platform at waist-high level, was a wood-burning stove. It quickly became not only the focus of interest for their half-frozen bodies but the center of their conversation as well.
The psychiatrist explained the stove’s unusual position as evidence of psychological problems brought on by isolation. The engineer, on the other hand, saw it as an ingenious form of forced-air heating. The physician surmised the poor fellow had arthritis and found it too painful to bend over to fuel his stove.
When the trapper finally arrived, they could not resist asking about the stove whose warmth had saved them. “Simple,” he said. “My stove pipe was too short.”
I wasn’t along for that hunting trip, but I’ve been where those guys were that day. I’ve tried to read someone’s mind. I’ve seen motives that weren’t there. I’ve walked into situations, caught a snippet of what was happening, and made a fool of myself by some badly chosen response. Or I’ve used a perfectly innocent slip of the tongue as my excuse to take offense. I can be a real jerk at times!
On occasion, the victim has been a stranger. At other times, it was a friend from church or colleague at work. Most often, it has been my wife or child.
Communication is a wonderful thing – when it happens. But there are so many barriers. Each of us brings baggage to every situation. Words can be vague or carry very different nuances for people from different backgrounds. Then there are the prejudices and blind spots all of us have.
Lots of confusion could be eliminated and far more progress made this week by following this simple rule: When something isn’t clear, ask. Don’t assume. Don’t guess. Don’t mind-read. Trying swallowing your pride and saying, “I’m not sure I understand. Do you mind explaining that to me?”
This simple strategy could save you embarrassment, time, and money. More important still, it might save one of your life’s most important relationships.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Value of a Good Laugh

  You know it’s going to be a bad day when . . .
·      Your knees buckle but your belt won’t.
·      You sink your teeth into a juicy steak – and they stay there.
·      You plop down in a rocking chair and can’t make it go.
·      You routinely dim your lights for economics rather than romance.
Does your image of a holy person include a smiling face and laughter? Or is a saint someone with a stern face? Did you ever notice how often the Psalms exhort us to “rejoice in the Lord”? And this is from the Bible: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength” (Proverbs 17:22).
God must have a sense of humor. Did you ever see a giraffe, anteater, or duck-billed platypus? And what about the zebra? Now there’s a good case for God’s willingness to do something just for the fun of it.
One of the most refreshing things in human experience is a belly laugh. Nothing relieves stress so quickly and completely as laughter. If you have children or grandchildren, I guarantee that fifteen minutes in the floor with them tonight will do more to invigorate you from the day’s tensions than whining or having a stiff drink. If you don’t have children, just act silly with someone you care about for a quarter hour. It’ll do you so much good that you’ll make it a habit.
I once heard a fellow lament that most of the Christians he knew had faces as long as mules and looked like they had just bitten into green persimmons. Oh, I hope not! What a poor recommendation of faith to unbelievers. What a terrible misrepresentation of the God who, we say, gives meaning to our lives. Without joy, what is the meaning?
There’s a serious side to humor, all right. What you laugh at tells a lot about your character and self-image. But laughter itself shouldn’t be suspect as a waste of time or a distraction. God shines through when people laugh.
So lighten up. Devote some energy this week to learning to laugh at your life’s comedic twists and turns. After all, you’re not getting out of it alive anyway!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Easter: Light for the Dark Places

 
When I was about ten years old, my mother and father took me to Carlsbad Caverns. I still remember the gigantic stalagmites and stalactites. I can almost feel the cold of being deep inside the earth on a hot summer day in New Mexico. But my most vivid memory is of the moment when our guide had all of us find a place to sit down and – after warning of what was about to happen – turned off all the lights that had been put inside the dark belly of the earth.
I felt like I was tumbling in space. My heart raced. With one hand I grasped the rock ledge on which I was sitting and with the other reached for my dad.
Fortunately, the tour guide didn't allow it to last long. He turned on his flashlight. And it looked as bright as a million candle-power searchlight!
An ordinary flashlight that costs $3.95, complete with batteries, can push back the overwhelming, frightening darkness of the Carlsbad Caverns. A beam that would be hardly noticeable at ground level on a sunny day looked like a laser in deep darkness. As soon as it appeared, my stomach gave up its tumbling sensation. My lunch became stable again.
I could see my parents’ faces in outline again and knew I wasn't alone. I sensed that the single light in our guide's hand heralded the return of the lights which had guided us previously and whose presence we had taken for granted.
When God created Planet Earth to be our home, he came onto a scene that was formless and dark. He pushed back the darkness with light, then set about to bring order to chaos. It takes light for life to survive and thrive.
When Jesus was re-creating the human race and restoring hope to despairing people, he came onto a scene made formless and dark again. This darkness had come by human rebellion against his holy will and humanity's inhumanity to its own. In his birth, teaching, lifestyle, and personal victory over death on Easter morning, he pushed back the darkness with the light of heaven's bright glory. To use John's language, Jesus was the light shining into our darkness; the darkness could not conquer the light he brought.
If you are feeling the head-over-heels sensation that comes of being in the deep darkness, look in his direction. Jesus is still the Light of the World. And it is only in the presence of light that you can live, grow, and flourish.
“I am the light of the world,” he said. “If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12 NLT).

Monday, February 27, 2012

Dinner at the Agape Restaurant

              A fascinating and thoughtful article in the Wall Street Journal (Feb 18, 2012) laments the “loss of a sense of community” in our culture. I call it fascinating for the simple reason that its author acknowledges that its loss is traceable directly to “the privatization of religious belief that occurred in Europe and the U.S. in the 19th century” – when faith was booted off the town square of public, communal truth and relegated to the ghetto of private, non-falsifiable personal opinion.
            Alain de Botton, author of the article in question, is an atheist who wants to find a way to recover the spirit of community in a secular world. The one thing he will not suggest is a return to a personal God, authoritative Scripture, or objective behavioral standards. He suggests a path to building a superstructure for community without bothering with the foundation of faith.
            The article is titled “Religion for Everyone” and seems to be a sincere lament over the loneliness that radical individualism has created; when each of us is an island of her own wants, fears, and self-defined values, heady isolation quickly becomes cold seclusion from others – all of whom struggle with their own wants, fears, and self-created values that are in conflict with those of others.
            De Botton has the dual goal of moving people from personal selfishness to harmony and from despair to hope. So he suggests an Agape Restaurant where people could read and reflect on the Book of Agape. (No, I’m not making this up!) All genders, ethnicities, and customary distinctions would sit together; there would be a spirit of acceptance leading to friendship. Readings would allow people to explore all degrees of alienation and pain, fear and regret. The result of an evening there would be compassion, forgiveness, and unity.
            The de Botton agenda intrigues me. Invites me. Encourages me. And I wish our human failure across the centuries had not left him so disillusioned with faith that he cannot see that his quest is doomed to failure. (There’s certainly a lesson here for those of us who love the church to get our act together!)
            No less than Thomas Jefferson produced an edition of the New Testament that omitted the supernatural in order to leave only the moral teachings of Jesus unfettered by faith; but the authority to teach as he did derives from his incomparable divine nature put on exhibit in his occasional miraculous actions. Similarly, our quest for community begins with a common confession of need (sinfulness) and the unity created by receiving and sharing the healing (forgiveness) God offers in Agape Restaurants (churches) that are open to the ultimate Book of Agape (the Bible) that tells a story of Good News worth sharing.
            One follow-up letter to the Journal summed up my view of the article pretty well: “Certainly seems like a lot of trouble just to avoid going to church.”