Osama Bin Laden's Death & The Christian Reaction

As I write this the twitterverse, facebook, news stations, and general U.S. public is buzzing about the reported death of a well known terrorist named Osama Bin Laden. To many this death means justice is being served, that the United States is the hero of the world, and/or that the war on terrorism is a good idea. I'd disagree with about all of these things. However, I'm not writing this to debate those issues. I have one simple message right now for Christians.

We are to be a people of love who imitate Jesus Christ. Jesus loved all people so much that he died for all of them, wiping away their sins, calling them his children. He forgave all evildoers as they tortured and killed him. During the greatest of injustices he suffered and exampled perfect love, asking God to forgive those evildoers. In his teachings he told us to emulate our Father in heaven who is faithful to the wicked and the righteous, causing his rain and sun to fall upon both. He sent his son for all the sinners of the world. The public sinners, the private sinners, the violent sinners, the sexual sinners, the mental sinners. He did this in an effort to bring all people to him. He wanted all people, all sinners, all wicked men and women, to repent and join his kingdom. He gave us Jesus, the "Way", so that we would have unity with him.

That is what love looks like. In the book of Ezekiel God speaks to his people and twice makes it clear that he does not delight int he death of the wicked because his true desire is for them to change their ways and join him in his way. Ezekiel 18:23, 33:11. The second states, "...As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways!..." Jesus commands us to forgive others nonstop. He also tells us to love our enemies and that means we don't rejoice in their death. Paul instructs the Romans to never seek or invest in revenge but to be people of love who bless others and do good to their enemies. THIS is a huge aspect of the Christian life. The Christian is defined by love.

So when men like Osama Bin Laden die we should not celebrate their death (or killing/murder/whatever) but mourn for someone who died without repentance (as far as we know). That is worth our mourning. That is worth sadness. If we are people of love then someone dying outside of knowing love should touch us deeply and not cause us to throw our arms in the air rejoicing. We can rejoice that injustice in the world has been dented but we can not rejoice in a sinner perishing (that's eternity language by the way). The fact that people, even Christians, rejoice in the death of other men proves that this world is broken, sinful, fallen, and in need of true redemption. We know that God will judge all and justice will come to pass (rejoice in that nonstop) but right now, for us, mercy, compassion, grace, forgiveness, blessings, and love are our focus, duty, and supreme pleasure. Let us not get caught up in the "victory" of the United States (which is no victory at all to those of us who know the love and salvation of God, the meaningless of nations, and the value of every human being who is created in the image of God) but let us mourn the sadness that penetrates the kingdom of heaven as a brother sleeps in sin and may not enjoy eternity with us and with God. How could we celebrate such a tragedy? Let us not think that bombs or guns have brought redemption and justice but instead let us remember that redemption and justice has already been brought in the greatest of ways through Jesus Christ dying on the cross as a weak and seemingly defeated criminal. Violence is not the hero. Christ is the hero. Love wins, it never fails. The only death ever worthy of true glory is that of Christ on the cross (this nugget was provided by my friend Pike).

This death of Osama Bin Laden is not the true depiction of God's justice. Justice might be found in there somewhere but the cross is that true portrait. Judgement and justice language is used often to describe the death of Jesus. Bin Laden's death will unite us in mourning and love or in revenge and hate. We can not be a people who support endeavors which consist of top priorities such as killing a particular man for such endeavors are contrary to the way of the heavenly kingdom. We must support evangelistic and gospel-oriented endeavors that have goals of converting men into repentance. As Ezekiel tells us, God desires repentence and not perishing for the wicked. As citizens of God's heavenly kingdom, our military belongs to heaven and not a specific nation. In other words, we are united first and foremost (or perhaps only) to the military of heaven and the war it wages. The terrorism we stand against is not made of flesh and blood but of powers and principalities according to the apostle Paul. We must have a gospel based view of reality and no lesser view. An early church father named Athenagoras once stated, "To be just alone is not enough because to be just means to repay like for like, but we have been commanded to far beyond this, to be kind and patient" He also stated, "We cannot bear to see a man or woman put to death, even justly!"

Therefore, let us invest in love, mourning this death, not celebrating the ways of violence and wordly justice. Let us align ourselves with the God who does not delight in the death of wicked men but desires that all men come to him and may we be a part of drawing others near. Today we can do that with how we approach this popular death. We can pray for the middle east and what may come as a result of this death. We can pray for all the people in various militaries that they find safety. We can set an example by mourning and speaking love. We can do many things to distance ourselves from hate, revenge, nationalism, and all the evil things that are floating around in our society at this very moment. It was once said that Christians are the reason the good flows on in this world. Let us live in such a way that this may still be true even if we are accused of loving too much.

Proverbs 24:17, "Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice"

Being Civil & Being Harsh

In my last article I argued that Christians ought to practice restraint and charity in their discussions with others. I characterized that type of communication as civil and I recognize that is a less than ideal term. I recognized this because Mtngirlsouth asked me the question "Do you think it is uncivil to call people vipers? How about telling them that they serve their father, the devil?" This is a tricky question because I am either to say that Jesus was uncivil and thus my position is lost or I have to say it civil to call people vipers and sons of Satan. That is a delightful trap she set up (and I mean that in a good way) because neither of the conclusions lands me where I ought to stand as a Christian. As a result I felt the need to alter the way I presented my argument.

Being civil is not the goal of the Christian because the definition of civil is one that morphs from community to community. Being civil always carries with it the assumption that a person is trying to simply get along with others and that is of course not the goal of Christianity (even though it is often a result). Christians love others so those others may draw near to God and enter his kingdom as reconciled people. That often requires offending others and even using harsh language. Being civil is not the goal of the Christian but rather conviction, reconciliation, unity, and love.

I believe there are times for harsh speech that seems uncivil. Christians must speak boldly and honestly about the truth of Jesus Christ. However, this never means we are to be unloving in our speech. If a Christian speaks harshly and offends it must be motivated by love and done in a way that is very obviously meant to convict a person and bring them to repentance so they may be reconciled to God. Jesus sets a great example for this when he calls the Jewish officials (and only the Jewish officials) a brood of vipers or sons of Satan. Jesus aimed his harsh words at those "closest" to God. Jesus even calls his closest disciple Peter "Satan" at one point. The Apostle Paul did the same thing. Paul was harsh with the church and soft with those outside the church. We are wise to adopt the same approach. We have harshness for the religious but gentle and bold truth for the pagan. With that in mind let's examine Jesus' harsh words and try to discover what they mean for us in the way we discuss truth with others. The passages being referenced here are Matthew 12:33-37 and Matthew 23.

Jesus was never out of line (even if it would not have been seen as civil) and a big reason is because he was right. He knew the hearts of those people just as he knew his Father. Not only that but Jesus is quoting scripture that is familiar to the officials. He's holding them accountable to the scriptures. He isn't using random terms to insult but rather specific biblical terms to convict. That's a huge key to remember. Jesus is focused on reconciliation. Whenever he tells those religious officials they are vipers he brings it back to sin, judgment, and repentance. The first time this happens is with John the Baptizer in Matthew 3:7 (and Luke 3) and it is followed by baptism. That's not a coincidence. Jesus and those who have his Spirit (like John and Paul) are intentional and wise with their words. They call a spade a spade so that it may become something better. These words are always for the sake of instruction and reconciliation.

Honest and bold speech is important and shouldn't be dismissed so that folks can get along. People won't get along. Does that mean I should call people I disagree with sons of Satan or vipers because they are uncivil or incorrect? Maybe because I'm upset with them? No. Does that mean using that type of language is always wrong? No. There is a time and place for that language and it takes great wisdom to know that time and place. Not only that but if those words don't serve the purpose of reconciliation and repentance then it is nothing but harmful and unloving. These words by John, Jesus, and Paul are not meant to tear down but to build up and they are used on very specific people in very specific instances. Nothing in these passages gives reason to believe the Christian can be insulting or unkind to others in daily discussion. This is tough love in speech form and tough love can only be given to those who share a deep solidarity with the corrector.

Jesus was wise enough to know we would abuse this example for selfish purposes and that we needed more instruction on this and thus he taught us "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering" (Matthew 5:21-24).

So we need to be careful with our speech. After all, we are not Jesus (or John or Paul) and we don't have the wisdom and discernment he does. We must speak words of truth that have the potential to breed life, repentance, and reconciliation. We can't be careless. We must be intentional about our language for it reveals our heart and it will be a way in which we are judged. If we are harsh then we better make sure we're completely on target and motivated by love.

Jesus said it well when he stated, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matthew 12:33-37). Finally, let us remember that after Jesus he spoke gave himself up for those he spoke to, sacrificing himself for their sake. The discussion ended in selfless love. His victory looked like defeat but we affirm that love won.

Christians & Charitable Discussion

There was once a man named Philipp Jakob Spener. He was a pietist and he had a few wishes. These wishes were found in the preface to a collection of sermons by another cool guy. One of Spener's wishes was that we would employ both restraint and charity in controversy. Spener lived in a time when head knowledge was highly respected and most pastors were preaching above the level of layperson understanding. Debate was popular and it often became unChristian. Spener, in response, communicated this wish.

I blog a lot and like many of you I interact with folks in (usually theological) debate/discussion. A large amount of those discussions are with people I disagree with. With the internet and similar venues that create impersonal communication it is easy to disregard restraint and charity for it is easy to disregard the humanity of the person we are dialoguing with. Most recently I have seen Spener's wish tossed aside in discussions regarding Rob Bell's latest book Love Wins. Say what you want about Bell's position but one thing is certain, the discussion that has come about in reaction to the book, in a lot of circles, is proving love to be losing in among Christians. Sadly, there are many other topics that prove this lacking of love.

Sojourners (like them or not) has a code of conduct for online interactions on their website which I've hijacked and altered for myself. I've even shared this before on this blog. Here is a portion of that commitment to civil conduct.

1. I will express myself with civility, courtesy, and respect for every member of this community, especially toward those with whom I disagree—even if I feel disrespected by them. (Romans 12:17-21)
2. I will express my disagreements with other community members' ideas without insulting, mocking, or slandering them personally. (Matthew 5:22, Romans 1:28-32)
3. I will not exaggerate others' beliefs nor make unfounded prejudicial assumptions based on labels, categories, or stereotypes. I will always extend the benefit of the doubt. (Ephesians 4:29)

I love that last line about giving the benefit of the doubt to others. Our goal is to show the love of Christ and reconcile all to God. That is hard to do when we don't see the good/God in others or don't treat others as though they are worthy of that respect and charity. I believe a part of Christian harmony and living peacefully with each other involves disagreeing well and submitting to selfless love just as Jesus Christ did. We value knowledge a great deal but I wonder how often we value it more than love and peaceful unity. How often are we trying to be right and how often are we trying to love, unite, or reconcile? We don't always have to choose between the two but sometimes we do. My wish is that we wouldn't toss restraint and charity aside. For me that often means shutting up instead of continuing to be verbal in disagreement.

Christians, I urge you to be civil at all times. We have motivation in Christ Jesus to interact lovingly with those around us. The will of God compels us to love neighbors and enemies at all times, blessing them and speaking life to them. Commit yourselves to loving language and interactions. Communicate with others in a way that respects, encourages, and uplifts them. Even in disagreement show love because being right will not bring about reconciliation like love will. Being right or making someone look stupid is not going to serve the purposes of the Gospel. Name calling, exaggerating or misrepresenting the other person's position, personalizing an issue and attacking a person instead of their position are not actions of charity. Can we learn to practice calm discussion? Can we learn to be self examined? Can we learn to stop ourselves and notice when we aren't being loving and then change gears so that we begin to turn our discussions towards love? If we can not then we are no longer concerned with loving as Christ loved for we have dismissed the gospel teaching of treating others as better than ourselves. Therefore, let us restrain ourselves in controversy and let us be charitable to others so that love may abound!

Doing Little For Christ

Dorothy Day is a hero in my eyes. She is a co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. She has a plethora of inspiring and thought provoking quotes. She's just a fantastic women in the history of the Christian faith and you should check her out. You can buy a great book containing her writings at Amazon. Here is one very small quote from her that is pregnant with beautiful truth.

“What we do is very little. But it is like the little boy with a few loaves and fishes. Christ took that little and increased it. He will do the rest. What we do is so little that we may seem to be constantly failing. But so did he fail. He met with apparent failure on the Cross. But unless the seeds fall into the earth and die, there is no harvest.”

When I think of the small amount of work expected of the individual person my mind also goes to Jesus' teaching (whereas Day has pointed to his example) when he shares a parable. "He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:26-29).

Recently I wrote that love is the goal of the Christian (and not getting to heaven or out of hell). A brother pointed to the ministry of reconciliation we have been given by Christ as the Church. He pointed this out to say reconciliation is our goal. I don't disagree. However, Reconciliation is not entirely our duty. We are unable to reconcile others to God on our own. Alone, we can not reconcile others. However, on our own, we can love. As individuals, as a society/community/church. We can fully love and in doing so plant the seeds of the gospel/kingdom. God will grow and multiply. Salvation and reconciliation is the work of God of which we have a part and yet we are not the only part (for even creation preaches the gospel). So while we are charged with the ministry of reconciling man to God we acknowledge that our part in that process is being a people of love. We live out the gospel and in so doing plant seeds and complete our part in reconciliation.

What is difficult about this teaching is the fact that what is asked of us is not a single deed or even a repeated deed but a life. Christ does not ask that we give him a basket of fish and loaves unless the fish and loaves are the whole of our life. We do not visit the farm and plant a seed but rather we are farmers who scatter seed. It is a lifestyle. It is what we do. It is who we are. This task is not as much a task as it is an entire life lived for and in Christ. We do not merely attend church services but we die and resurrect with Jesus and live out his ministry of reconciliation by being a people of absolute love. What is expected of us is little when we observe the whole of reconciliation and yet in our eyes there is nothing larger to ask of a person.

Christian Modesty

I've been reading a lot of blogs this past week about modesty and purity expectations of Christian women. It's a hot button right now. Should it be such a hot button though? I don't see any good reason for it. With everything else in the Christian life it boils down to loving God and loving neighbor. That said, let's jump into the issue.

Women: Our oversexed culture plays a big role in the tense relationship between Christian men and Christian women's clothing. It sucks any time a person or group of people are given the responsibility to boost others when it really seems the responsibility ought to be on the other party. But, that's life sometimes I suppose. I know I find myself in that situation a lot where I live/work. And as much as I hate saying it, because it does seem unfair, I often think that Christian women have a large amount of responsibility to look out for their brothers precisely because of the surrounding culture. I'm not saying women should jump into full time snuggies (though that'd be comfy), denim dresses (God help us), or even strict mennonite apparel (which is actually kinda hot... I mean... sort of... sometimes...) but I do think women need to go the extra mile in our churches when it comes to pursuing modest dress. More on this later.

Men: At the same time, men need to get their butts in gear and stop being slaves to the culture and their lust. All men know a modestry dressed woman doesn't fix the problem. Self control is the main issue. Men need to quit making excuses, take ownership, and be disciplined and healthy men so they can be faithful husbands or celibates. They need to create for themselves a Spirit that doesn't need their sisters to go an extra mile so that eventually the women can be less restricted (which is a result of their love)! And yeah, it's hard. The culture is completely comes against what scripture directs men to be like when it comes to sexuality (though the specific attack isn't intentional). It's a battle. But the men are equipped (no pun intended) by Christ to overcome all obstacles.

Congregations: How men and women work out all this in various congregations/communities is up to them. I hope we all have hearts that are willing to make us bondservants to Christ and to one another so that we can go the extra mile. I hope we can all avoid legalism because our love for each other is so strong that we do whatever it takes to be good for one another and always build each other up with our clothes or whatever it may be. So let us love one another as best we can. If that means actually donning long sleeved, long skirted dresses for a while then let's do it. If it means throwing away our computers and attending sex addict meetings let's do it. If it means just talking about sex honestly together more then let's do it. Odds are, we're all going to have different burdens in this.

Me: I keep my laptop in the public square at my home so nothing is hidden. I talk to Christian men about my sexuality on a regular basis. I study sexuality from both a scriptural and scientific perspective so I don't scar myself or others (did I mention I use to be a sex educator for the Southwest Washington Health District in high school). I discuss the sex life of a few married brothers with them to encourage them and to learn for myself how to have a healthy marriage someday. I don't have to attend sex addiction meetings or use certain softwares. Some men do. I don't need my sisters to wear strict Mennonite clothing. Some men do (or maybe they just need to become Mennonites or monks for a while). Don't get me wrong, I think it'd be great if skinny jeans and tight low cut tops weren't worn a lot but that's why I'm surrounded by men to talk and pray with. That's why I invest in disciplines that grow self-control. And for those guys and gals who drool more than dogs when they see a sexy brother or sister, they need healthy community and practices too. We all need help.

Christians: God gave us one another for a reason. To grow more deeply into his love. We can do that by being a community that loves one another, counsels one another, cares for one another, looks out for one another, serves one another, and sacrifices our wants and ourselves for one another. We carry each other's burdens because that is what Christian love looks like. We value education and teach each other about sex in an honest and healthy way that embraces scripture. We don't allow each other to be legalistic and destroy future sexual integrity and we don't allow each other to be liberal and destroy present sexual integrity.

I saw a blog recently in which the author posted about a woman who couldn't open her legs to her new husband due to a Christian upbringing with unbalanced sexual education. That's not the type of love and healthy life the Church is to foster in its members. The Songs of Solomon should teach us about that balance! Christians should write amazing sexually packed poetry! That's okay for us! Our passion and urges should be expressed! We should have marriage beds that are being broken due to the awesome sex that happens on them (IKEA will make a fortune thanks to us)! We need to embrace sex for the beautiful and powerful gift that it is! At the same time, we hold to our standards. There is a balance and it is not incredibly difficult to find.Together we can find all the balance we need. Christ's Spirit is our Mediator and Administrative Teacher to help us.

Most all, modesty is a heart issue. Modesty deals more with behavior than it does clothing! A modest person dresses with decency and propriety but also with good deeds according to 1 Timothy. Clothing is important but who we are as people and how we treat others is the overarching issue we need to be concerned with. If our deeds and dress show a selfishness or a sense of indecency then the problem within our hearts needs to be dealt with. Our outsides ought to represent our insides.

So when summer rolls around and the debate about bikinis and short shorts comes into play in Christian circles let us always answer with the commitment to sacrificially love one another and carrying each other's burdens, no matter the cost. Let us be honest and balanced. Let us be graceful and not demanding or legalistic. Let us set an example for all others. Let us be true Christian communities. Above all, let us love.