June 28, 2018

What Do You Hear?

Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

– Matthew 16:12

What do you believe? If you only believe what lines up with your opinions, then maybe you need to step back and reconsider what the Bible really says.

We are a people who pull out Scripture verses to align with what we think, with what benefits us, with what feels comfortable. So, we demand that God give us everything we ask for in faith, while we refuse to associate with people we don’t deem worthy.

We’re missing the point. We don’t seem to understand the lessons directed at us. We demand that the government save the unborn babies (a good thing!) all the while condemning the poor as lazy and beneath us. We don’t know their stories but that doesn’t stop us from judging.

The Bible tells us to care for widows and orphans but we shake our heads no. That’s something families should do. And if the families don’t do as they should, well, that’s someone else’s problem. It’s what we believe except that’s not what the Bible says.

The Bible tells us to share so we demand things from others and condemn them if they don’t turn over whatever it is we want. Then we guard closely our money and our time, refusing to share either. We expect much from others but so very little from ourselves.

We pray as we feel led. We urge God to change hearts to align with our expectations. We tell God what He needs to do to make us happy and successful and, thus, better servants of His. We expect God to line up before us to bestow favors we don’t deserve because, after all, we belong to Him.

We believe that talking about hard work means we really do work hard. We expect that those who have less material things must be too lazy to acquire them. Or, maybe, they just make bad financial decisions. We don’t consider what an illness can do to a family budget. We don’t think about the privileges we have through no effort of our own.

We believe everything we hear on television if it lines up with what we want to believe. We get angry with anyone who disagrees with us. We are defensive when someone questions our opinions and points out that what we’re saying really isn’t from the Bible.

My grandmother swore the Bible said people of other races were inferior to whites. She never could find that passage in the Bible though I asked her to show me. The reason she couldn’t find it? It’s not there. That’s true of many things we believe. When we’re questioned about it, we either can’t find it in the Bible or we realize we’ve taken the words out of context.

We Christians are imploding because of our hatred and judgment of those whom we share faith in Jesus but not much else. We don’t want to work together, to love, to learn how to get along and have civilized conversations when we disagree. We’re too busy pointing fingers to realize we need to get the plank out of our own eye before we go after the splinter in the eye of someone else.

Be wary of those who preach the gospel with selfish intent. Be careful to study the Scriptures for yourself and ask God to open your heart to hear His voice. Not everyone who says they’re of God actually preaches His Word. If someone always tells you exactly what you want to hear, speaking words that line up always with your views, maybe you’re listening to the wrong person.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Changed Attitudes Needed

Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. -- Matthew 16:12

Several news stories this week have previewed the Southern Baptist Convention (sorry, the name change doesn’t change anything). Baptisms and membership are declining. The leaders are struggling with it.

I know many members of SBC churches who would lament about our nation’s declining morals. It’s always the fault of others. They would insist that they’re standing firm and refusing to compromise and that’s why so many are turning away.

Too bad they can’t look in the mirror and see themselves as others see them. Because when folks think of a Southern Baptist church they don’t see grace, mercy, forgiveness and love. They see people who condemn anyone who is different and look down on everyone who is not part of their clique.

Now I do realize that there are many wonderful people who happen to be Southern Baptists. And there are few, if any, who do disaster relief better than Southern Baptists. But as a whole, the group is so caught up in their rules that they forget about everything else. They remind me of Pharisees, who couldn’t see the true message because they were too focused on the rules and sins of others.

Okay. Confession time. I once belonged to a Southern Baptist church filled with many fine people. In fact, I was baptized in a Southern Baptist church while I was in college. I’ve seen the good. I’ve experienced the good. And, in some ways, it still feels like home.

But in other fundamental ways, it doesn’t fit at all. I don’t buy into that “interpretation” that women are second-class citizens, relegated to organize and do much of the work while men sit around and make all the decisions. I also don’t believe that people need to be changed before they entered the doors of a church.

Oh, I know. They’d deny that last part. But I’ve witnessed the snubbed noses of too many members looking down on those that don’t “fit.” I’ve listened to preachers lecture from the pulpit on “proper dress” in a church. I’ve watched them drive away good people seeking God, needing Jesus, and yet being looked down on by people who think they are better than everyone else.

I know not all stereotypes fit all people but I also have witnessed too much not to understand why people are leaving Southern Baptists churches. Jesus didn’t look down on anyone. He didn’t snub others. And He didn’t think some were better than others. In fact, Jesus preached that the least would be first and the first would be least.

If SBC wants to increase its attendance, it will take far more than a name change and the election of a black leader. It will take an attitude change, starting in the hearts of its members.