How do Christians define themselves? What issues are important to them?
If you listen to the Christian right, only two issues matter: abortion and gay rights. Right-wing Christians want to outlaw abortion and severely limit the rights of gays. It is curious to me that these are both issues that draw a line in the sand. They both squarely put conservative Christians on one side and everyone else on the other side. Divisive is a good word here. Right wing politicians love these two issues because it pulls conservative Christians out in droves to the voting booth.
My questions is: in this world, what are Christians supposed to be? My answer: we are supposed to reflect the light of Jesus. We are supposed to be known by our love. On a very basic level, we are supposed to deny ourselves and put our neighbor’s needs above our own. Evangelicals know the Bible, but they seem to be very handy in making a distinction between “us” and “them.”
Not to say we should sacrifice our our convictions, but in my opinion we should offer this world an open hand and not a closed fist.
In an email discussing abortion and the election, a close friend of mine made this comment, “Would Jesus not have something to say about poverty, oppression, torture, and war?
As Christians, how can we pick certain issues to take a moral stand and ignore others?
A group of Christians have gotten together to try to take a more holistic approach to issues. They have named themselves Red Letter Christians after the words of Jesus in the New Testament.
Jim Wallis, the editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine, says this about the group he helped found:
“The truth is that there are many people who like the “red letter stuff,” and many of them are not even Christians. Try it yourself sometime. Go out on the street or to your school or workplace and take a poll. Ask people what they think Jesus stood for. You’re likely to hear things like “stood with poor people,” or “compassionate,” or “loving,” or “he was for peace.” Then ask them what Christians or the church stand for. And you’re likely to hear some very different things.
We have a problem. Most people have the idea, as crazy as it may seem, that Christians and the church are supposed to stand for the same things that Jesus did. And when they don’t, people get confused and disillusioned. It’s a problem.
Rev. Tony Campolo says this about Red Letter Christians:
“In those red letters, He calls us away from the consumerist values that dominate contemporary American consciousness. He calls us to be merciful, which has strong implications for how we think about capital punishment. When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he probably means we shouldn’t kill them. Most important, if we take Jesus seriously, we will realize that meeting the needs of the poor is a primary responsibility for His followers.
The words of Christ, and indeed the life of Christ, is transformational. Jesus only pointed fingers at the religious elite. With everyone else, Jesus engaged them. He did not always agree with people, an He always challenged people. But, importantly, He walked among common, imperfect people, He ate with them, He spent time with them; in a very real way He loved them.
The next time you hear someone talk about abortion or talk about gay rights, either for or against, think about what it really means to show love to that person.
