Rooted Yet Open: Holding Truth, Releasing Inessentials
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
I love ranting. I am, after all, a by-product of this social media perpetually outraged culture. There’s something so deeply satisfying to make “that specific #woke point,” “tear down that specific reasoning,” or quote “this particular article” when sparring with digital adversaries, whether political or otherwise.
I don’t have enough fingers on both hands to count the amount of times I have entered into arguments of this vein. Even in this span of time since social media began and I hopped on its bandwagon, I have shifted many of my positions and perspectives. Yet the desire to prove my new superior insights, to squash the reasoning or logic of my opponent, has always been prevalent for me. I like believing that I hold onto wisdom and proving that “they,” whoever “they” is on a particular position, hold onto foolishness.
I have a deep desire to be right and a shallow desire to be loving.
What is interesting to note, as it pertains to Jesus and arguing, is how often He does not participate in ‘tit for tat’ spats with the Pharisees, Sadducees, and whoever else was pissed with what He had to say. So often in the four gospels, the authors make note of how these adversaries attempted to trap Jesus. And it usually involved trying to put Him into a controversial, “other” opinion as it regarded a hot topic issue of the day.
And as controversial, inciting, and sometimes openly combative Jesus was with His stories and platitudes, there are just as many encounters where Jesus engaged with a third alternative. Outsmarting and outwitting His enemies had little to do with proving that His opponents were foolish or dumb. Rather, outsmarting and outwitting His opponents often was about deeper and more profound calls and commands to be more loving, to be more kind, to be more peaceful. So loving, so kind, and so peaceful, in fact, that it was foolish.
In the West, with our literal hundreds of different denominations, different theologies, and different cultural perspectives, not to mention our family of origin wounds, traumas, and pains, I think we have spent too much time trying to be right religiously. And I think we have spent too little time earnestly loving one another, no matter what.
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.” Mark 12: 28-34
It seems to me that often we would rather be right than be loving because it is easier to be right. It requires, after all, much, much less of us. And it is more popular to be right, particularly in this current climate of virtue signaling and shaming the “other” who is wrong. Further, being right, as it pertains to perspective and worldview, employs only one part of your person. It applies only to your mind, and has no bearing on your strength, your soul, or your heart. But Jesus’ command, the two He finds as the most important, don’t say Love the Lord Your God with Your Mind only. Nor do they say anything about being right.
God requires everything from us. And this includes, most importantly, our propensity to want to be right.
Furthermore, I’d say in the Christian tradition there are much fewer things to be right about than many Christians think. For the stickler, type A personalities, I’ll give you my list of what I think is truth to hold firmly.
God is love
God is three and also one
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and belief in Him brings eternal life
Jesus is coming back
Adherence to the two greatest commandments
That seems to be the gist of it. Free will, predestination, same-sex relationships, swear words, who can take communion and who can’t, beliefs on Hell (or lack thereof), whether women can participate in leadership in the church, etc. these all appear to me to be inessential to following Christ well.
I’m not saying, however, that we should not talk about them.
In fact, I find it be very important to discuss, in detail, all of the issues I mentioned up here. Especially within the church. In particular, with our local church, our local brothers and sisters in Christ. Even with those who are not in the church.
But clumping entire theologies, ideologies, and people groups into boxes according to their stance on these issues is absurd. I’ll say it again; discrediting, bad-mouthing, and, at the very worst, not associating with and/or shaming groups for where they stand on inessential issues is wrong and is not how Jesus wants us to follow HIm.
Within Jesus own camp of disciples, there were sworn enemies existing in proximity together; a Jewish zealot terrorist (from the Roman perspective) who ambushed Roman patrols, slaying many with guerrilla tactics, and a tax collector, an enemy to the Jewish people and thief of their livelihood, sitting and breaking bread together.
What united them?
It was not their right theology, their correct worldview, their sound and empirically based perspective on Christ and how to argue and defeat atheists or progressive Christians or conservative Christians.
It was Jesus. They came to the table because of Him.
Let’s do the same. Let us become rooted in Christ, yet open to those who are brothers and sisters who do not see eye to eye with us, and also with those far from God. In the Upper Room, Jesus gives us this specific mandate.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Let us love each other as Christ loves us. We don’t need to be right about everything, we need only be right about loving Christ and each other. Compared to these two things, nothing else matters.