How? Because we’ve joined arm in arm with those who have no spiritual
inclination or Godly intent to promote like agendas that we value rather than
seeking Godly movement and humility to change the course and hearts of our
nation. We are a land filled with activists, ready to share our opinions
and espouse our viewpoints, but we fail to activate towards those who are in
need of true compassion with the same fervor, we cease to share life-saving
truth to dying souls. Rarely do we espouse the great hope that exists for
us who know the One who holds all things beyond just this nation’s future, but
of all things for all eternity with the same fervor that we espouse our
opinions on those we view to be lacking rights or a voice.
In the above call to the Corinthians for
separation, the Apostle Paul was not stamping a notice of “unclean” on the
world and stating that we are to have nothing to do with those who do not
profess or recognize Jesus. The verses above reference two separate Old
Testament scriptures that would have been well known to Paul, a scholar of the
scriptures. The first is found in Isaiah 52 in which God is speaking to
the nation of Israel. He is exhorting them to pick themselves up, dust
themselves off, take off the chains of ignorance and oppression that were upon
them, to remove the things that had pulled them away from Him and placed them
under the subjugation of others, to return to right relationship with him and
to touch nothing that made them unclean and that he would protect them!
Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.
But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”
Isaiah 52:11-12
The second references Ezekiel 20 in which God is reminding a rebellious nation that despite the depths of their depravity, he is a Holy God and only a Holy people will approach him. Due to the nature of their wickedness he would separate them from the nature and influences of the sin around them both from other nations and themselves so that they might purify them themselves. When they do so, he will “accept you as fragrant incense” (v 41)
This was spoken to a nation that, like ours, had compromised its identity as “ONE NATION UNDER GOD”. It was spoken to a nation that had become less identifiable as the nation with God’s hand on it and more identified as a nation that valued what other nations valued. It was spoken to a people, who were content to look less like God and more like their godless or pantheistic neighbors.
How, then, does this apply to us?
On tax reform? On education? On immigration? On freedom of speech? On the right to bear arms? On reproductive rights?
Certainly these issues are all weighty
topics worthy of serious and informed discussion. The marvel that I
have come to appreciate more so in the last few years than in any time previous
in my life is that no matter how weighty the topic or its implications, I am
blessed to live in a nation of God given laws that both permits and requires
dialogue without fear of the barrel of a gun, debate without coercion.
And yet at no time of my life have I seen such contempt and outright
dehumanizing hatred of others simply because of the way they think.
Regardless of the Biblical imperative to
love all, this mind of mine still wants to rationalize hatred based
on the atrocities being committed by genocidal brutality. I can relate to
a disregard for those who would themselves seek to inflict harm upon the
innocent or the incapable. But to hate someone because they think
differently; because they think solution “B” is better than solution “D”
or possibly have solution“B+C+D” which I don’t understand because it is
not my own?...
The problem with this paradigm is that it
is rooted entirely independent of the sovereignty of an all-powerful,
all-knowing God. Man has faith in his ability to make change and when
confronted with obstacles, man must conquer those obstacles. When this
cannot be done outright, man must do whatever is necessary to discredit them to
make those obstacles ineffective, often at the cost of integrity or
truth. All of this is done in man’s strength alone.
Passionate debate ensues. Social
Media erupts. People you thought you knew suddenly reveal a side to their
personality you either were unaware of or completely disagree with. On
the news violence erupts. All sides are guilty.
“Maybe that person isn’t as Christian as I
thought they were…”
“No true child of God would embrace the
scripture and still think like that…”
“You can’t think like that and claim to
love others…”
"Their lack of grace makes them as
rigid as the Pharisees..."
“I bet that person also agrees with…”
And we, those who are called out of
darkness, align with those who proudly still walk in it to engage in this maelstrom
of culture war that is ultimately inconsequential. Why? Because the physical cannot direct the spiritual. Our efforts, our ideologies, our rallies,
our marches, all of them do not elevate, detract, or lend in and of themselves
to the war that is being waged in the heavens over this plane.
For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood contending only with physical
opponents, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces
of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the
heavenly supernatural places.
Ephesians 6:12
Yes, this scripture is old hat. Yes we’ve heard it recited countless times in church. Then why do we fail to live out this very hinge-pin facet of existence. This would be no less critical or true as the statement “inhaling and exhaling regularly will promote a long life”. Yet I have often performed the mental “eye-roll” when reminded of the above – as if I was being sold a cheap answer for a complex problem.
Further, we are oblivious to the regularly
whispered, often ignored
"if
my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my
face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and heal their land".
2 Chronicles 7:14
Our debates, our public posts, our positioning
– can very much of it at all be characterized by the word “humble”?
Finally, when looking to scripture for
socially disruptive figures during a socially disruptive time in history, one
need look no further than Jesus himself. He had the religious societies,
the political power players, and even the economic class all on their heads
trying to pin him to the wall, trying to find something/anything that would
allow them to discredit him – just one misplaced word or phrase,
just one interpreted misdeed. To their frustration they
couldn’t. And what was worse, he was attracting followers. Not by
the dozens or the hundreds, or the thousands, but by the tens of
thousands. This man was on everyone’s radar. This man could upend
it all. And what was his admonition in a time of oppressive political
occupiers, unfair taxation, spiritual and religious calcification? When
everything in the known world needed overturned and he had to power to do so,
the might and the right, what was his response?
And
he opened his mouth and taught them saying:
Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be
satisfied.
Blessed
are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Blessed
are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil
against you falsely on my account.
Matthew 5:2-11
Hebrews 4:12 describes the Word as a sword
cutting both ways, a surgical instrument discerning truth and intent, and
surgery hurts. Our outcry needs to be
less at each
other and more towards our Father if we are ever going to see the change we
seek or if we ever desire to have our priorities align with His. Then, and only then, will we see the only true justice that
outshines social justice and promotes civil discourse.
Until then...
