Double Standards Extinguish Light
A just balance and scales are the LORD’s;
all the weights in the bag are his work. – Proverbs 16:11
The news caused barely a ripple in this conservative
town. The President had lied to the leader of another country. He admitted it.
And all the conservative Christians said nothing.
They are a vocal group, these folks I know. They are
quick to point out, again and again, every sin from politicians on the other
side of their aisle. But the standards are different when it is someone they
support.
It isn’t the first time. Extramarital affairs are the
norm in this man’s life. He does it again and again and again. No one says a
word. If the media brings it up, then they are being mean and unfair to a good
man.
Years after the fact they are still bad-mouthing a man
who lied to cover up his own indiscretion. They are still condemning his wife
for forgiving him and working to rebuild their marriage. Different standards?
Without a doubt.
Why is it that we look past the bad behavior of some
politicians and condemn the same behavior in others? Yet we don’t understand
why the world around us doesn’t think too highly of Christians. They look at us
and see hypocrisy but we can’t see the same thing in ourselves.
We fight to throw out foreigners God called us to be
good to. We demand an end to support for the poor God called us to help. We
respond with vengeance against those who do wrong, demanding justice rather
than mercy and forgiveness. We seek to kill criminals and the broken, deny
medical care to those without the means to pay for it, and cast aside the
children who suffer through no fault of their own. In the next breath, we
condemn abortion and call ourselves justified. Does no one see the double
standard? Well, yes, the world sees it and turns away from God.
We pick and choose which of the Bible verses we will
hold dear. We condemn homosexuality and throw out a verse to prove our point.
We “forget” that God also condemns divorce unless it involves adultery or
violence. We judge what was never our place to judge because it makes us
uncomfortable. We don’t like different so we shove it aside rather than love
where God has called us to love.
We cling to our possessions like they actually define
us, forgetting they are gifts from God and not some “right” we have earned. We
wallow in ourselves rather than reach out to the least, the broken, the widows
and orphans in our midst. We choose who is “worthy” and ignore our own ignorance
with a smile and a check to those we choose to care about.
And, yet, we don’t see the double standards in our own
behavior. We don’t live with kindness and compassion in our hearts but rather
with condescending judgment and hatred. We use God’s holy name to justify
ourselves when He has no part in our ugliness. We push people away when God tells
us to draw them near.
There is no politician that is either all good or all
bad, just as there is no person who is all good or all bad. The same standards
apply to everyone, whether we acknowledge that fact or not. Every time we cast
a stone, we are holding ourselves up to a standard we’ve already failed to
achieve. God judges evenly. Does that make you uncomfortable? It should.
