A Sickness Unto Death

Americans will file into their places of worship this morning to worship the god of their chosen tradition. American Christians will worship their God and pay homage to the Prince of Peace (a.k.a. Jesus Christ).

They will sing hymns, offer prayers, and listen to sermons, all the while hoping that things will change for the better or that the next mass shooting will not occur in their town or village or city or community.

But it just may, and this is the reality in which we all live.

Our country is becoming more and more dangerous in which to live and work. Fathers go to work each day not really knowing if it’s the day they will be shot and killed. 

Mothers will take their little children to schools or to the bus stop not knowing if this is the day another Sandy Hook will occur.

Americans will go to malls or shopping centers or even Walmart not knowing if this will be their last shopping trip. 

All the while unstable and angry shooters are plotting and planning their next attack. It’s frightening. It’s alarming to be sure.

America is undergoing a spiritual crisis not seen in many years. 

It is indeed a "sickness unto death."

America is devolving into a moral and spiritual sickness devoid of any serious Gospel influence. The values so clearly taught by Jesus are either ignored or reinterpreted to fit into a particular political platform or an ideological point of view.

My prayer this morning is that as Americans file into their places of worship they will encounter the God of grace and the Lord of peace, joy, and love. They will encounter the life-changing values of the Gospel contained, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount and make them their standard-bearing platform upon which to live their lives.

Maybe, in the words of author Gregory Boyd, it's time to "crucify the Warrior God" image of popular imagination.

Otherwise, I am afraid, we are all doomed!

Choose to be Kind!

Okay, I get it!

I get it that you believe that homosexuality is a sin. I get it that you base your belief on your interpretation of a few passages of Scripture known as the “clobber texts” (there are six of them in both the Old and New Testaments).

Especially the text in Romans 1:26-27 that seems to give you the greatest sense of certainty in your stand against LGBT people. Believe it or not, I understand how you can read this text, out of context, as an indictment of all homosexual people. 

I get it that you are a product of a brand of Christianity that vilifies homosexuals and brands them as “unrepentant sinners."

I don’t agree with you, but I get it.

But what I don’t get is why you stopped reading Paul’s words concluding Romans 1 and why you didn’t at least read all the way through 2:1. His words shout out to us:

“Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.”

A pastor in Saint Augustine, Florida recently refused to leave his restaurant server a tip the guy was gay just might be a good candidate for reading Romans 2:1. Okay, the pastor can read and interpret the Bible as he sees fit but this does not give him the liberty to treat someone unkindly or disrespectfully just because of the person’s sexual orientation. 

Look, your view on homosexuality is yours to own. I may not agree with it but can we agree to be kind to LGBT folks, simply because it is the fitting thing to do. 

The most effective witness we Christians have at our disposal is the way we treat others who are unlike us (even our enemies). Otherwise, our verbal testimony to what we believe becomes nothing more than “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Hollow words that impress no one.

Treat all people kindly and you will discover a change in the texture of your heart. You may even come to love homosexuals regardless of how you read the Bible. 

Be kind!