Politicians and No-Win Scenarios

Suggested Reading: Mark 13:5-13

One of the most common complaints about politicians is that so often they change their positions or vote against their principles because they don't want people to dislike them. In a way, it's understandable. After all, they have to be elected to office time and time again and that becomes difficult when people dislike you. Then again, constantly changing your opinion so that people will like you tends to turn people against you, too. In some ways, being a politician is a no win scenario: even when you win there are a bunch of people out there who voted for the other person. Sometimes the best politicians, the ones who are able to keep everybody happy, are the worst public servants, while the best public servants are often poor politicians. Generally, I tend to prefer someone who stands by principle, even if I disagree with a few of those principles, over someone who will change their opinion because they want me to like them. With the principled politician, I know what I am getting and have a measure of trust that they cannot be bought.

Jesus tried to prepare his disciples to choose whether or not they would be principled in Mark 13. Giving them warnings about the future, Jesus told them, And you will be hated by everyone because of My name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered (Mark 13:13, HCSB). Jesus warned us, not only that people wouldn't like us, but that people would hate us. In the previous verses, Jesus had warned about the persecution that hate would produce. He didn't tell us how to avoid that hate or to get people to like us. Jesus encouraged us to endure it.

How we handle people disliking us and even hating us says a lot about the kind of Christ-followers we are. If our goal is to make people like us, we will compromise our faith and our behavior in order to make it happen. But if our goal is to be faithful to Christ, we will remain true to Jesus' teachings and love the very people who hate us. We will live consistent lives that reflect a devotion to Christ which is greater than any petty need to have people like us. And, ironically, we tend to cultivate more genuine respect from others by living faithfully for Christ than by trying to get others to like us. That respect can eventually lead them to reevaluate their own opinion of Jesus.

When you experience hate, persecution and dislike, resist the urge to make those people like you. Love those who hate you, but don't compromise your faith for them.

Politicians, Eunuchs, and Journeys

Suggested Reading: Acts 8:26-40

When I was in college I discovered I had a gift for languages. I could already speak Spanish, but I studied Hebrew and Greek as well, discovered that I could decipher written Portuguese and took a couple semesters of French and German. Because of my newfound love of languages I began researching post-grad degrees and, through a time of prayer and decision making, decided that I should go to Oxford to study linguistics. Instead of graduating in December like I would have otherwise, I decided to graduate the following May to avoid some complications that would have arisen from waiting the 8 months between December and August to start grad school. Because I was going to stick around for a full year instead of just a semester I continued being active in Love Company, the university's drama ministry group. Being part of Love Company that year is how I met my wife. But because I met my wife, I did not end up going to Oxford. To this day, I feel strongly that God wanted me headed to Oxford if for no other reason than so that I would stick around another year in order to meet my wife.

I was reminded of that experience a while back when someone made a comment about God being wrong when God told a particular politician to run for president because the run had been unsuccessful. The commenter assumed that when God tells a person to do something the only point is accomplishing the task itself.

In Acts 8 an angel of the Lord told Philip to go to a particular road going from Jerusalem to Gaza. Acts 8:27 says, "So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch" (NIV).  Upon meeting this eunuch, Philip was able to share the Gospel with him and baptize him, and then Philip was transported away by the Spirit of the Lord, never actually reaching his destination.  Now, God definitely told Philip to go to a particular destination, but the destination was never the point of the trip. Sometimes, God leads us in a particular direction because there is something we need to learn or experience or something we need to do along the way but God is never really concerned with the destination.

I cannot speak to whether or not God told that politician to run for president, but I can say, based on scripture and on my own experience, that sometimes the point is the journey, not the destination Now, if the man had said, "God told me I would be president," we'd know he was a liar. But just the fact that a venture is "unsuccessful" does not mean God didn't speak or that God was wrong.

If you thought that God had called you to do something you never managed to accomplish, don't assume that you heard God wrong, look back and see if there was something else that happened along the way. I would never have met my wife if I hadn't been preparing for Oxford. Philip would never had led the eunuch to Jesus if he hadn't headed down the road toward Gaza. And there is no telling what you will experience along the path God has called you to follow.

God very often calls us to journeys, not just to destinations.

Asking for Trust While Lying Through Your Teeth

Suggested Reading: Matthew 28:1-15

One of the frustrations of the political season is that, unless you completely tune out all forms of media, you have to listen daily to public figures asking for our trust while lying to our faces. From every side during the political season we are lied to and winked at because people are more interested in winning and advancing their own ideas than they are invested in the truth. We're told one candidate didn't really help create jobs (just don't look at the first several years of his tenure, shh). We're told one candidate hated a particular group of people (just don't look at who he actually appointed, ok). We're told one candidate's "scandals" are all phony because there's no proof (just ignore the massive piles of evidence because they were collected by people from a different party).  We're given so many half-truths and outright lies, so much propaganda and spin, so many scare tactics and straw men, that it is hard not to become very angry all the time if you really pay attention. After all, the goal in politics is getting your candidate elected and advancing your political ideology. It's about winning, not the truth.

This tendency to sacrifice the truth for one's own gain is neither new nor confined to politics. We even see an example of it in Matthew 28. The Jewish ruling council had condemned Jesus for blasphemy and convinced Pilate to crucify him, even having an official seal placed on the tomb in which Jesus was buried. But when the soldiers guarding the tomb reported that Jesus had risen from the dead, complete with an earthquake and angel appearances, the priests and elders gave the soldiers a large sum of money and told them, “Say this, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole Him while we were sleeping.’ If this reaches the governor’s ears, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble” (Matthew 28:12-14, HCSB).

At this point, the priests and elders should have been jumping for joy. Jesus really was the Messiah! God had answered the prayers of his people and sent a savior! They should have been running to Jesus and falling down before him begging for forgiveness. But instead, they disregarded the truth because it didn't fit their agenda and meant they had been on the wrong side. Sadly, they demonstrated that they were more interested in winning, in maintaining their superiority, than in the truth.

But before we start judging the priests and elders, we should take a hard, long look at ourselves. How often do we ignore certain facts because we don't know how to counter them and still be right? How often do we pretend scripture doesn't address a particular activity or attitude because we enjoy it too much or because quitting would be difficult and inconvenient? How often do we only pass on a portion of the truth because the whole truth would makes us look bad or expose our errors?

When we find ourselves engaging in these kinds of activities, we prove ourselves to be more invested in an idea, in winning, or in keeping what we have, than in the truth. As a result, we begin living a lie, knowing that we're wrong, knowing that we simply won't admit it. In the end, living a lie sears our consciences until we no longer care. And that should scare us.

Don't put your ideas, ideologies, politics or position above the truth. If we've been on the wrong side of an issue, it is better to swallow our pride and switch sides than to live a lie.

The Green Goblins of Willful Ignorance

Suggested Reading: Acts 4:5-18

In the Tobey Maguire Spiderman trilogy, Spiderman's best friend, Harry, was also the son of the first Spiderman villain, the Green Goblin. When the Goblin managed to kill himself in an attempt to get rid of Spiderman, Harry blamed Spiderman for the death. Even when Spidey shared the truth with his friend, Harry refused to let it affect his view of things. Not until Mary Jane, a girl both men loved, found herself in danger did Harry decide to accept the truth and fight at Spiderman's side to save Mary Jane.  One of the tragedies of the trilogy is the time that was wasted and the friendship that was ruined because one of its central characters refused to allow the truth to affect him.

In Acts chapter four we find another instance of this self-destructive human behavior. Jesus has already risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, and the disciples have begun teaching, preaching and healing in his name. As they are going into the temple one day, Peter and John heal a lame man and the entire city is thrown into a tumult. The high priests have Peter and John arrested and brought before them, in part because they are known as associates of Jesus, whom they condemned to execution. While deliberating how to handle Peter and John for healing a man in the name of the risen Jesus, they make an extraordinary statement. "What should we do with these men? We can't deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in the name of Jesus." (Acts 4:16, NLT).

The council acknowledges that a miracle has been done. In the verses preceding, they do not contradict Peter and John when they claim Jesus has risen from the dead. But the council doesn't allow the truth of the events to affect their view of things. Previously, they believed that no one could do miracles unless God was with that person, but when Jesus and his disciples came along, preaching something they didn't like, they chose to change their definition of the miraculous rather than admit they were wrong about Jesus.

We are often guilty of this same behavior. When the facts don't fit our own view of the world, we choose to ignore or reinterpret the facts in order to preserve our own opinions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the political realm. Whether Democrat or Republican, conservative or progressive, moderate or independent, it is often very easy to ignore or disbelieve the facts that don't promote our own worldview. And we don't confine our hypocrisy to politics. We play the same game when we stake our reputation on a misinformed opinion and choose to double-down rather than admit our error. We make wild accusations based on feelings or rumors and then refuse to apologize when presented with the truth. We cling to a poorly formed doctrine and claim the Bible passage which contradicts our opinion must not really mean what it says.  But as followers of the One who called himself the Way, the Truth and the Life, we must care more for abiding in the truth than for the being seen as right.

When the facts don't fit with our opinion, we must change our opinion. We can't afford to trade the truth for a lie just to save our pride.

Letting Someone Else Control Your Language

Suggested Reading: Isaiah 8:11-22

The political season has kicked into high gear. If you thought political commercials have been annoying so far, just wait two weeks and you may consider tossing out your televisions and radios. One of the first rules of politics is to try to control the language of the debate. That is why there are multiple words or phrases that are intended to apply to the same group of people or ideas depending on which side of the discussion you agree with. That is why people on one side say, "Pro-life" and on the other side say, "anti-abortion." It is why labels get tossed around with increasing frequency. If you can control the language, if you can control the definitions behind the words, then you can control who wins the discussion (in theory).  An example of controlling definitions can be seen with the word "homophobia," for example. "Homophobia" used to mean "an extreme fear of homosexuals." The word has now been changed so that anyone who does not endorse homosexuality is a "homophobe." No one wants to be labeled a homophobe, or a racist, or a sexist, or a bigot. So, if you can back someone into a corner where they give you what you want or are branded with one of those labels, you can win the argument.

Controlling the language of discussions is nothing new. In fact, God warned the prophet Isaiah against simply accepting the language and concepts of the day. In Isaiah 8:11-13 we find, "For this is what the Lord said to me with great power, to keep me from going the way of this people. Do not call everything an alliance these people say is an alliance. Do not fear what they fear; do not be terrified. You are to regard only the LORD of Hosts as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be held in awe" (HCSB). God warned Isaiah not to blindly accept the language of the people: "Do not call everything an alliance these people say is an alliance." In other words, the fact that someone uses a particular word a certain way doesn't change the definition of the word, so don't fall for it. Words have definitions. And while, yes, definitions can change over time, we do not have to let people with particular agendas change them for the rest of humanity. If we allow the world to change the definitions for us, the world will change the way we think.

God also warned Isaiah about that danger: "Do not fear what they fear; do not be terrified." Do not let them tell you how to think. Do not let them tell you how to feel. Do not allow everyone else's mindsets and thought patterns to automatically shift yours. Think for yourself. Examine the definitions being tossed around by the people you interact with.  Don't allow labels or intimidation to influence you.  As believers, we are to be the salt of the earth, to help preserve the world against the natural decay that sets in without a preserving influence. If we abdicate that position by simply granting the world control of the language we use, our preserving power diminishes greatly.

When you notice people using words in ways that don't quite fit, when you find yourself on the receiving end of the power of a label, don't simply accept the language. If it's not worth getting into an argument, at least make sure that you don't accept the new language yourself. Don't be influenced by twisted language.

I Wish I Could Get Attacked For That...

During the last presidential campaign, I heard a commercial blasting one of the presidential candidates as someone who used to have a Swiss bank account. Aside from the fact that owning a Swiss bank account doesn't have any direct bearing on one's qualifications to be president, my first thought as I heard the commercial was, "I wish I had a Swiss bank account!"

Then I got to thinking about what I would do if I had enough money to warrant a Swiss bank account. Obviously I would be saving some of it (that's what Swiss bank accounts are for), but what else would I do? I would imagine that many of us have those fantasies from time to time. What would I do if I won the lottery? What would I do if someone left me a million dollars? How would I spend that kind of money? I've known a few people who suddenly came into money and I have discovered that the answer to that question is surprisingly predictable: they spend it on the same kinds of things they already spend their money on, just to greater extremes. People who already spend money on their family tend to spend even more. People who give to the church tend to give even more. People who waste their money tend to waste it even more.

As I was pondering this phenomenon I ran across this verse from Psalm 37:26 about the righteous person, "He is always generous, always lending…" (HCSB). When I read that verse, I immediately played the devil's advocate (not literally), asking, "Well what if he doesn't have much money?" But then I realized the verse didn't say, "He is generous when he has a lot" or "He lends money when he can afford to." The proverb says, "He is always generous, always lending…" The righteous person doesn't give because he can afford to; the righteous person gives because of who he is.

Jesus reinforced this principle in a number of parables, most notably the parable of the talents where three different men are given sums of money to use in their lord's name. At the end of the story, those who have been faithful with the little they have been given are rewarded with more and the one who did not manage for his lord's benefit had everything taken away from him. Jesus ends the parable with the master telling his faithful managers, "You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share in your master's joy!" (Matthew 25:21,23, HSCB). Jesus was teaching that what you do with a little, you will also do with a lot.

If you ever wondered how you would handle a sudden influx of wealth, look at the things you spend your money on now and you will find out. Be faithful and generous with the little you have and you never know when God might give you the opportunity to be faithful and generous even more.

Playing the Gospel Gotcha Game

If you've ever watched political debates, you may have noticed a pattern. Rather than dealing with the issues at hand, each of the candidates chose to find ways to turn the questions into an opportunity to bash the opponent. Oh? you're asking about how what I said was wrong? Think about this thing the other guy actually did. Oh? You want to know why I constantly lie? Let's take this opportunity to talk about the other guy's less than winning personality. The entire debate, and the entire campaign really, has boiled down to attacking the other person for their sins and downplaying one's own sins. There is little attempt to discuss policies. It's all about delegitimizing anything the other one says be destroying the opponent's character.

Jesus had a couple of opportunities to fall into the same trap in Mark chapter 2. In the first instance, the scribes of the Pharisees criticized Jesus through his disciples by asking why Jesus was eating with "Tax collectors and sinners" as if they were perfectly righteous and upright themselves. Jesus didn't respond as I would have been tempted to do by saying, "Well, you're really not as righteous as you think" and then proceeding to list all of their sins (like he was capable of doing). Instead, Jesus responded by addressing the core issue in the discussion: his purpose on earth. "Those who are well don't need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn't come to call the righteous but sinners" (Mark 2:17, HCSB). Rather than destroying his "opponents" as he was capable of doing, Jesus addressed the core issue that swept away the heart of their criticism, essentially saying, "Sinners are the ones who actually need me."

The second opportunity was just a few verses later. Jesus and his disciples were walking through a grain-field and his disciples plucked a few heads of grain to eat. The disciples of the Pharisees then accused Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath (presumably by reaping). Now, I had always assumed the disciples did break the Sabbath until I did some research recently only to discover that plucking a head of grain as you are walking through the field in order to eat it right then was not considered "work"  which violated the Sabbath by many Jewish authorities. When the Pharisees accused Jesus' disciples of breaking the Sabbath, Jesus could have stopped and declared, "Technically, according to Rabbi so and so, what they did is ok so leave them alone." Jesus could have pointed out the incorrect portion of their argument and addressed the Pharisees' gotcha moment. But Jesus didn't. Instead, Jesus addressed the real issue: the nature of the Sabbath. Jesus quoted an example of someone breaking temple regulations in a time of need and summarized by declaring, "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28, HCSB).

In both cases, Jesus' critics tried to get Jesus bogged down in a "gotcha moment," where a technicality  or an incident that could be made to look bad might be used to derail Jesus. But instead of giving in and addressing these little things, Jesus chose to address the core issue which would sweep away these smaller arguments. Jesus chose to address the heart of the problem rather than get caught up in playing the game.

As we try to share our faith with people, or even just as people criticize us, we cannot allow ourselves to get distracted by a game of "gotcha." Rather than giving in to an initial gut reaction and addressing each little nit-picky point, we have to look for the bigger issue behind  their objections and criticisms. We can't allow ourselves to get distracted with the minor arguments that never really move the discussion forward. People's minds never get changed in the gotcha game; people only play it to reinforce their own beliefs. Instead, we must allow the Holy Spirit to point us to a person's larger concern that, maybe, they haven't even fully articulated to themselves yet.

Don't get distracted by the gotcha game. Look for the big picture and address the heart of the issue.