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December 21, 2014

When Personal Worldview is More Important Than Truth

By Anthony Wade

In light of the tragedy from yesterday it is time to comeback to a Kingdom Worldview...

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Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. - Romans 12: 14-21 (ESV)

In an absolutely horrific story yesterday, two police officers were executed by one deranged individual who had earlier in the day tried to murder his girlfriend in Baltimore. Two men who were just doing their job. Two men who were stolen from their families just 5 days before Christmas. There is no defense possible. There is only the understanding that as Christians we know we are living in the last days. The love of most has waned cold:

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. - Matthew 24: 9-14 (ESV)

Mind you these verses are speaking about believers. The murderous assassin from yesterday's story is not who these passages are about. The love of most in the world has always been cold. They already betray one another and hate one another. They already ascribe to lawlessness - on both sides of this argument. No beloved, these verses are about the man in our mirror and yesterday serves as a stark reminder of who we really are and where we are really heading. The carnal explosion on social media is to be expected after such a volatile incident following the previous volatile incidents. Once again, fully expected from the world but the reactions from Christians was more frightening. Using the incident to prop up their personal politics. Using the incident to lay blame upon anyone who had the temerity to say that the previous incidents had any merit to them. Not just from everyday Christians but from leadership! Pastors, who ought to know better. Preachers who ought to know they will be held to a higher standard for every careless word that escapes their mouths. Hate feeding hate. Anger feeding anger. Distrust feeding distrust. Using the model the world and Satan offers up for us. Find someone to blame and vilify them for the cause of everything wrong in our lives. Except things are rarely that simplistic in reality. You cannot paint with a broad brush like that and still be dealing in the truth and that was when it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks.

We no longer care about the truth.

I would let that sink in for a minute. I am afraid that we have reached a critical tipping point in history and in the state of the church. When the church spends Sundays to preach about wealth, motivation and three sermon points to a better you then it is no wonder that we have lost the desire to protect the precious truth. It is precious because the world devalues it so much. One of the greatest things about becoming saved is the discovery of absolute truth. That things are black or white and right or wrong. That the shades of grey the world sells us are only there to make us feel better about our sin. Absolute truth is one of the primary reasons the world hates Christ and His Word so much. What do our critics say beloved? Oh you Christians think you know everything. How can there be only one way to heaven? What makes you better than me?

The answer of course is nothing! I am not better. I am just covered by the blood of the Lamb! The world finds the notion of Jesus being the only way offensive because they want to find their own way. A way that doesn't mind their adultery. A way that does not mind their cheating or stealing. A way that will not hold them to the standard of the truth. That is what we saw yesterday and in Ferguson and in Staten Island. We did not see people rushing to embrace the truth. Desiring to find out the truth. People seeking out the truth. No. We saw people rushing to find someone to agree with them that their personal worldview was correct. That the other guys were wrong. That they are to blame for everything wrong in this society. We have traded in "tell me the truth" for "tell me I am right."

Come on now. We are adults. Let's be honest. Depending on what side of the argument you were on determined what "news" channel you watched. That is because the "news" is no longer in the truth business. They are in the ideological division business. They have an ideology and they sell it to you. Not out of meanness or spite but because that is exactly what we want from them. We do not want the truth anymore in case it does not fit with our personal worldview. In case the truth reveals we might be wrong. Or we might be prejudiced. Or we might be hateful. We just want that smiling anchor to come on and tell us that we are all right. That truth is malleable and can be shaped into anything we want. That might work well on this side of eternity but I simply do not understand how Christians forget that the Bible teaches us that we will all stand bare before the one to whom we must give account. Where is the fear of the Lord?

So I lay in bed last night wondering what Jesus would do. I believe the Holy Spirit led me to the key verses from Romans. Specifically He led me to the verse about weeping with those who weep because now is the time for us to weep with the families of Officers Ramos and Liu. I can only imagine the heartache and pain their families will go through. Much like the families of Eric Garner and Michael Brown had to endure recently as well. No one life is worth more than the other. God loves us all and does not play favorites:

He will render to each one according to his works:to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality. - Romans 2: 6-11 (ESV)

God shows no partiality. So today we mourn with those who mourn. We support those that need support. That is what we ought to do as Christians. We do not bicker as the world bickers. We do not divide people against each others as the world does. We love people and by doing so show them Christ. Then I started reading the context surrounding the "weeping" verse and realized God was not done speaking to us today. The first admonition from the key verses is we are called upon as believers to bless those that persecute us and not to curse them. Leave it to God to start with a hard one! Those people you cannot stand - bless them! Those people who make your blood boil - bless them! Those people you think are so wrong in this situation, regardless of what side you think you are on - bless them! That means you ought to pray for them. Reach out to them. Love them. What a wonderful way to build a bridge! God always knows a better way because if you look at our current landscape with these issues there is no one building any bridges. They all seem in a rush to burn down whatever bridges they come across but no one is building. I especially like the part that says do not curse them. God knows our wicked hearts. His heart must break when He sees the vicious hatred and bitterness we show towards one another. I do not even mean how unbelievers treat each other but rather how Christians interact in these situations. Take the following verses very seriously beloved:

If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. - 1John 4: 20-21 (ESV)

It does not matter if your Christian brother is on the other side of these social debates and incidents. What matters first and foremost is he is your brother in Christ. The Bible tells of a time when Jesus had to set the standard:

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." - Matthew 12: 47-50 (ESV)

It is not that His mother and brother did not matter. It was about teaching that our family starts with those who share our beliefs. Far too many Christians today have fit their Christianity into their lives instead of making their life to be about Christ.

Back to the key verses we see that we are to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Why? So we may live in harmony with one another. Christians are not supposed to be this cut off group of strange people who demonize everyone in their world for not sharing their beliefs. We are supposed to stand for the truth. If a situation calls for rejoicing we are to rejoice but if it calls for weeping we are to weep. Paul said he became all things for all people. He met people where they were at. We cannot allow our personal worldview or feelings interfere with who we are supposed to be as believers. The world needs to see Christ, not our worldview.

I love the next instruction beloved. We are not to be haughty, but associate with the lowly. What does this mean in practical terms? Never consider anyone beneath you. There has been a whole lot of this going on in these recent stories. People referred to as animals. People marginalized because of race or socio economic status. By Christians. Who did Jesus seek out in His ministry? The prostitutes. The lepers. Those cast to the fringe of society. The "lowly." Our church should not look like a social club. It should look like an emergency room. Haughty? Remember that he who insisted on being first will be last. God does not promote the proud. The next command here is going to shake a lot of trees but we are called upon to never be wise in our own sight. We cannot rest upon our subjective worldview and seek out someone to confirm it. We have to seek the truth wherever it may lead us. How much "wisdom in their own sight" is going on in these stories? Too much. Everyone is suddenly an expert on choke holds, ballistics, grand jury proceedings, and everything else that is relevant. People have been talking as if they were there in Ferguson Missouri. Why are we instructed to not be wise in our own sight? Because that denies the truth. Our wisdom must come from the truth of every situation measured up to the Word of God. Our wisdom should begin with fearing the Lord. Of not wanting to say something that will further hurt people, divide people, or make people hate one another anymore than they already do.

We are to repay no one evil for evil. Instead we are instructed here to actually give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all! Think about that for a minute! First we have to give thought. Well what does that mean? It means we have to be considerate. We have to actually think instead of reacting. These tragedies are very easy to react to. We are angry. Two innocent people are dead and they should not be. We want to lash out. We want someone to blame. No no no says God. STOP. CONSIDER. GIVE THOUGHT. To what? To doing what is honorable in the sight of all. Whoa, there is some deep theology for us. Most would look at a situation like this and say there is no way to be honorable to both sides. That they are too polarized. That the differences are too stark. That is not what God says. When we focus on Him and matters of the kingdom, then honor is always achievable. We can always pray for people. We can always love people regardless of what side they are on. We can show them the love of Jesus. We can preach the Gospel to them. We can always act in a way that honors God and stands for the truth over our personal worldview. It starts with not taking a side other than Christ. It starts with acknowledging that both sides are human. Both sides deserve love. God wants both sides to come to repentance. It starts with our realizing that we are not to be found on either side. We are to be found saying - here are my mother and my brothers! Those who do the will of my Father in heaven. If it is at all possible - we are called to live peaceably with all. I know that can be tough because we have our personal feelings but God asks us to put them aside for the kingdom. I have seen pastors come out strongly after yesterday's incident, seemingly not to care that there are other people on the side they are maligning. People who also matter to God. They do not need our worldview. They need our Savior.

But what about justice preacher! Well what about it? They key verses deals with that too! Never avenge yourselves! Leave it to the wrath of God! Do you remember who we serve? Justice is not merely a quaint attribute of God. It is who God is. Beloved, no one gets away with anything on earth. We keep looking at things simply from a temporal perspective. We need to build a kingdom perspective. The man who pulled the trigger yesterday and then took his own life will stand before God and answer for his life and his crimes. The punishment will be sufficient and eternal. The men who took the lives of Eric Garner and Michael Brown will stand before God and answer for their lives as well. God does not need a Grand Jury. He is the Grandest of Jurors because He sees everything and knows the deepest reaches of our hearts. That should not be a source of comfort beloved because deep in our hearts is where we lie to ourselves. It is where we bury our secret hates and prejudices. They will all be bare before the God to whom we all must give account. No one gets away with anything. That includes us beloved. We will answer for our own words. We will answer for the hate we spread. We will answer for our careless words. That is why it is even more crucial that we seek the truth over our personal worldview.

God concludes by turning traditional carnality on its head; as He always does! If your enemy is hungry - feed him! If he is thirsty - give him something to drink! It matters not that he is your enemy. The only thing that matters is he needs Christ. That is the eternal perspective. We live in such an "eye for an eye" world. We fancy ourselves more civilized but we remain barbaric in nature right down to our core. We cannot fathom the love of God to be willing to redeem the man who pulled the trigger yesterday and that is where our hearts remain blackened. That is where we look down upon the lowly and think that while we were somehow worthy of redemption, they are not. It must stop beloved. There cannot be hate running through the body of Christ like a cancer. I offer up two examples for your consideration. The first is David Berkowitz. Also known as the Son of Sam, Berkowitz killed six women in the late 1970s and wounded seven more. Decades later, Berkowitz refuses parole because he does ministry work inside the prison and as he states, "I have been pardoned by Jesus already." That's right, the Son of Sam got saved in prison and now serves for the kingdom to bring others to Christ inside the criminal justice system. We should rejoice at such a testimony but imagine if you will, one of the family members of the six slain women. Not so easy now, is it?

The second example I offer is the criminal on the cross, crucified next to Jesus. We do not have great details about who this man was. One Gospel refers to him as a thief but the Romans generally did not crucify common criminals. This was their most severe form of punishment. I think it is safe to say that this man did something really bad to someone else. Yet in his dying moments he simply asks to be remembered and is saved by the grace of almighty God. What a powerful testimony to the unspeakable grace and mercy of the God we serve! Except, what if you were this criminal's victim. What if your family was? Not so easy now is it?

Beloved, this is why the key verses from God implore us to not overcome evil with evil but rather with good. We have to develop and show a kingdom worldview not our own personal worldview. The kingdom worldview rejoices in the truth. It sees people as separated from God and in desperate need of a Savior. It recognizes that the families of Officers Liu, Ramos, Pantaleo, and Wilson will have enough anger and grief to deal with on their own. They do not need us to further fan the flames of hatred inside of them. The same goes for the families of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. These people are still precious to God, regardless of how we feel about them. The kingdom mindset says, of these I am the least. I am not surprised that God saved the Son of Sam. I am not surprised that He saved the criminal hanging next to Him on Calvary. I just remain surprised that He saved me. That is the kingdom mindset that leads to a kingdom worldview. They do not need our hate, outrage, and divisiveness. They need His grace. His mercy. His salvation.

Reverend Anthony Wade - December 21, 2014



Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

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