Boycotting Star Trek

Suggested Reading: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

I became a Star Trek fan in junior high and high school. I loved Star Trek. I even wrote a Star Trek novel during my sophomore year in high school (and then William Shatner wrote his own novel that was similar enough mine would never get published! But I'm not bitter or anything….ahem). I loved the science fiction and the vision of a future where humanity had overcome many of the evils of its past. But at one point, I became disillusioned with it, even deciding to boycott Star Trek. In several of the novels and television episodes a thread developed which ridiculed and mocked religious belief in general and which seemed to attack Christianity in particular. But after a while I realized something. Star Trek had always had those elements within it. Star Trek had never hidden those elements and never pretended to be anything other than what it was - a secular science fiction show. So, I ended my boycott of Star Trek and came back to it with a healthier understanding of both it and myself.

Many of us have experienced similar situations in life, where we decide to stay away from a particular group or product because of the things they support, the ideas they promote, or the lifestyles they live. And while there are certainly times when such "boycotts" are warranted, we often level them at the wrong people.  In 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, Paul wrote, "When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn't talking about unbelievers...What I meant was that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Don't even eat with such people." (NLT)

See, both to protect the integrity of the faith and to help straying believers understand the severity of their sinful behavior, we are to avoid people who claim to be Christians but consistently live like they are not. But nowhere are we told to treat unbelievers badly because they act like unbelievers. How else would we expect unbelievers to behave? 

Rather than targeting secular or religiously-other people and organizations for their behavior, we should be more concerned about those who claim to be Christians while presenting an absolutely horrendous witness to the world. But notice, Paul did not say to avoid people whose theology is different than ours or who disagree with us about portions of the faith. He said to avoid those Christians whose behavior is poor. In another example, in 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul warns against associating with Christians who are irresponsible and make themselves a burden for everyone else. 

One of the reasons so many people are turning away from Christianity today is that we allow sin to fester in the Church. We tolerate people who are abusive and greedy and are swindlers. Even outsiders understand that the Church is filled with imperfect people, but they rightly expect us to take a stand when people within our own ranks behave in despicable ways.

We cannot expect people to take our claims of the transforming power of Christ seriously when we tolerate consistent sin from those who claim to follow Christ.  Don't stay away from the sinners. Stay away from the people who claim to follow Christ but don't live like it. 

We'll Take The Murderer But Not The Adulterer

Suggested Reading: James 2:1-13

In the same passage where James warns against showing favoritism based on the benefit we might receive, he goes on to say, But if you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all. For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. So if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you are a lawbreaker (James 2:9-11, HCSB).

Though he doesn't specifically come out and say it, James hovers on the edge of another way we sometimes play favorites in the Church when he compares a person who commits adultery with one who commits murder, as if one might be acceptable while the other is not. That might sound far fetched, but I've known people in churches who are perfectly willing to accept someone fresh out of jail for a violent crime but unwilling to accept a person who has been through a divorce. Going a step farther, I've seen churches accept heterosexual couples living together outside of marriage but unwilling to accept homosexual couples.

My point is not that any of these activities should be condoned or accepted but that far too often we play favorites based on which sins we find acceptable and which ones we don't. Some sins we don't like but will look past because we understand them: robbery (if you're a dumb teenager), pre-marital sex (darn those pesky hormones), gossip (that really is a juicy story), lying (they must have had a good reason). But some sins we immediately use as justification to ostracize people: homosexuality (the perverts!), abortion (you're just being irresponsible and selfish, you murderer!), or gossip (I was just telling a juicy story but you're flat-out lying about me!).

James reminds us that we are all lawbreakers, that all of us have broken the entire law, and that all of us are in need of God's mercy. Speak and act as those who will be judged by the law of freedom. For judgment is without mercy to the one who hasn’t shown mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:12-13, HCSB). Sooner or later, playing favorites based on which sins are okay and which ones deserve condemnation will blow up in our faces. People will realize that we are hypocrites, the sins that we commit will fall out of favor, and we will face God's judgment for our own lack of mercy.

We can't afford to play favorites when it comes to sin. Eventually, popular opinion will turn against our own sins. Instead, let's remember that we have all received mercy and treat people as if we really believe that.