Billy Joel once wrote, "You may be right...I may be crazy!" Admitting someone else might have some insights that we lack is totally out of style these days. In 2012, being right is all that matters- even if it means denying some obvious facts. Watching the nightly news and following the ongoing political campaigns makes it painfully clear that we live in a world where compromise is dead. "Our side" must always be correct, and our unwillingness to admit that the other side can be partly right has led to a paralysis in our families, our churches and our nation. We blindly adhere to party lines and ancient doctrines and try to claim a moral high ground that in some cases simply does not exist. We forget that Jesus had dinner with outcasts and the demonized because he felt they had important things to say. We forget that almost everything Jesus said challenged the rules, traditions and structures of his day. We forget that Jesus called out the church leaders who thought they could define and limit God. Faith is not about being right. It is about being open to everything our enormous, gigantic God has to teach us, and trusting that the Holy Spirit will show us truth. And some of those lessons- in fact, many of them- will come from people we seek to discredit. Brennan Manning said it like this:
“If we maintain the open-mindedness of children, we challenge fixed ideas and established structures, including our own. We listen to people in other denominations and religions. We don't find demons in those with whom we disagree. We don't cozy up to people who mouth our jargon. If we are open, we rarely resort to either/or: either creation or evolution, liberty or law, sacred or secular, Beethoven or Madonna. We focus on both/and, fully aware that God's truth cannot be imprisoned in a small definition. ”
We find ourselves living in an Either/Or world, and it is crippling the passion and power of the church I love so much. I encourage you this week to let go of your desire to always be right, and instead focus on a desire to be faithful. Seek "that of God" in all you encounter, and listen to those who disagree with you. Become "Jesus with skin" to our divided world. I don't know much, but I do know this- I cannot change the world by proving you are wrong. But I can change it by listening to you, respecting you and loving you in the name of Jesus. Both/And. Give it a try...
Because of Jesus,
The discord among the church these days is so disheartening. In small ways I see it changing I think. While there are churches, mainly traditional denominations, who see the devil in other denominations there are others who view all churches with respect and try to work alongside them. These are the ones who are growing.
ReplyDeleteBut yes the churches and people who are of the either/or mindset make me weary.
Amy, I think you are right that the younger generation tends to be open to the ideas of others and to sharing church rather than owning it. I pray this is true. I also pray that the either/or crowd will somehow learn that God is in control- not us.
DeleteCarl
ReplyDeleteYou may be onto something. You might actually be right. WINK
I doubt that seriously, but thanks for the encouragement!
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