Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
Jesus
told His disciples that the way that people would know that they were His
disciples was if the they loved one another. This is a command that we often
give lip service to and yet often fail to actually do. We know that we should
love one another, but we allow minor disagreements to derail us. I have heard
it said that within the church I have to love those around me but I don’t have
to like them.
I think
Paul’s instructions in Philippians 2 speaks directly against that. We cannot
truly love someone we do not like. Oh, I suppose in theory we could, but in
practice it doesn’t work out that way. Our ego, our desires, get in the way of
truly seeking the best for the other person. We are all far more prone to vain
conceit than we want to admit.
In his
letter to the Colossians Paul expands on this idea of seeking the best for
others. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear
with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on
love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14
(NIV)
The
pathway to really loving one another as Jesus commanded is humble submission,
first to God and then to one another. As Paul says in Ephesians 5:21, Submit
to one another out of reverence for Christ. As I understand this,
submission, in this context, is voluntarily setting aside my needs, wants, and
desires for the good of the other person. When we do this we all win. It builds
a supportive, nurturing community.
But I
have run into a snag. I have always seen these verses exclusively as applying
to the community of faith. We struggle to live up to these commands within the
church, but we know we should and we strive to make it a reality. Unfortunately
many of these efforts cease at the front door. As soon as we walk out of the
church, we assume a different mode of operation.
We tend
to see those outside of the church as our enemies. They do not believe what we
believe. They act in ways that we deem sinful and shameful. They often oppose
us in radical ways. We put them in a different category from the people within
the church, much like the Jews saw the Gentiles.
Jesus
addressed this disconnect directly when he commanded us the love our enemies.
In both Matthew and Luke Jesus specifically says that we cannot draw a line at
the front door of the church. Instead, He expects us to extend love and grace
to “those people” outside of the church.
This
past Sunday I attended a conference which was focused on how we should love
those who are LGBTQ. It is a sensitive topic and I believe it was handled
biblically and compassionately. But one of the things that hit me hard was the
fact that 80% of LGBTQ people had some church connection early in their lives.
And in every case, they left the church because, instead of finding love,
grace, and support as they struggled to understand their identity, they received
condemnation and anger. They walked out of the church bruised and hurt because
those they trusted turned on them.
This
takes me back to Paul’s words in Philippians 2. What does it mean for me to
treat those people better than myself? What does it mean for me to look out for
their interests? The Bible makes it clear that it does not mean for us to
excuse their sinful behavior. But it does mean some very significant things. It
means that we need to treat them as someone created in the image of God and
loved by God. It means that we need to try to understand their struggle and the
pain that they feel. It means that we should treat them with kindness and
compassion, not condemnation and rejection. It means that we need to show them
the love of Christ in tangible ways. We do not have to agree with their life-style
choice or support their cause in order to love them as real people.
The
people in the LGBTQ community have so been villainized and condemned by the
church that they are very guarded around Christians. They will not accept our
efforts right away. They will be suspicious and cautious in their interactions
with us. They may even respond in anger when we try to engage them. But none of
that should stop us from extending God’s love and grace to them.
I had
the privilege of being used by God to help a young man from China come to faith
in Jesus. I asked him what it was that moved him in that direction. He
responded, I had to learn to trust you before I could trust your Jesus. I think
every LGBTQ person would respond in the same way. Before they can come to the
place of connecting with Jesus, they need to truly connect with us on a
personal level.
The
truth is that the ball is in our court. Satan is a master at blinding the yes
of unbelievers so that they cannot see the glory of God. The only way those
blinders will be removed is if they can see the glory of God demonstrated in
us. We are the light of the world. If we don’t shine our light well, the world
will remain in darkness.
We need
to work very hard at really loving one another within the church. That must be
in place before we extend our love to others. But we should never draw a line
at the front door of the church. Instead that love should spill out into the
streets and workplaces and neighborhoods around us in such a way that they will
see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.
Jesus replied:
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second
is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang
on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)
Live such good
lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may
see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
1 Peter 2:12 (NIV)
No comments:
Post a Comment