There was a time when the church was
the community meeting place, the elementary school and center of social activities.
A politician without a church affiliation would most likely lose an
election. I don't believe that the church has ever been perfect, but
it was respected and it's influence was broad.
Without making this an incredibly long
post about the myriad of causes, let me start with this statement.
Christianity seems to be losing it's influence in society. Atheism is
at an all time high. The separation of church and state has been used
to pull any reference of God out of our government, schools and
public places. Opinions of moral values are quickly branded as
intolerance.
In an effort to “stem the tide”,
conservative Christians have engaged in this culture war. Picketing
abortion clinics, taking a stand against homosexual marriage, and
rallying for morality legislations, conservatives have drawn lines in
the sand on several fronts. They are losing their battle. In fact
their opposition is pushing back so hard that we may soon see
legislation that goes against the church.
So what do we do? Do we give up on what
we value? Before you label me as some left wing hippy new age
Christian, let me be clear. I have very conservative values. I
believe that there is a better choice than abortion, I believe that
homosexuality is not God's best for someone's life. But I also
believe that pride is sinful and I struggle with my sins just like
everyone else on this planet. I can't pull on someone's splinter when
I'm blinded by the tree in my face.
I propose that we stop the war. Who
came up with this “fight for what's right” rhetoric anyway. When
Peter was ready to fight for the life of Jesus, he was told that if
you live by the sword, you would die by the sword. The philosophy of
Christ is upside down to ours. He says that if you love your life,
you will lose it. If you want to be first, you must be last. If we
are attacked, we are to turn the other cheek (Not bowing, but loving
enough to not strike back).
So why are we trying to so hard to win?
What are we going to win if we do? Maybe we should focus on winning people and not arguments.
We should revisit Galatians 5:22-23.
How about laying down our weapons and try love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Even
if the most evil person comes to power in the U.S. and enacts
legislation that goes totally against the church (like every day in
many countries), the last phrase of that scripture says, “there is
no law against these things.”
This is what wins people. This is what
the world craves.
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