Fighting the Wrong Battles

 Allen typed this after watching the first video in Ken Ham's Foundations series. ~TK

I believe that we, as Christians, fight the wrong battles in the world today.  We have lost our focus on the foundations of Jesus' teachings.  The power of Christianity doesn't come from political control. The power of Christ does not come from stifling other religions or other lifestyles. The power of Christianity does not come from hate or fear; by telling people how wrong the are, or threatening Hell and damnation.  The power of Christ does not come from numbers, or from our own expectations of what power is, which, so often, seems to coincide with what the world sees as the standard.

The foundation for Christianity is Matthew 22: 36-40.  Jesus gets straight up asked.  "What's the greatest commandment?" Of all the things in the laws and from all of history, he says this.  It's Love. This is how Christianity spreads.  Not a single opinion has been changed through military might or by telling people they are wrong.  Every day actions of love. Listening to others talk about the problems they have, treating them like human beings with value, helping when and where you can.  We spread Christianity by not speaking ill of others, by quietly doing what is right day in and day out in our own lives so that others look at us and KNOW that something is different.   I discipline my children out of love for them. I stay with my wife, even when we aren't living a Hollywood happy ever after, because of love.  I treat my co-workers and the people that I am charged with managing with Love.( Even when I have to push them harder than normal. ).
People see the difference.  The people are more apt to hear me express God's message through the things I'm not saying. The world will always hear what Christians do louder than what we say.

Herod slaughtered children. Matthew 2:16.  He though the Messiah was going to be a great king or military leader that was going to overthrow him; take his place in a worldly kingdom.  When the Magi decided to not do the informant work for Herod, he slaughtered every single child in Bethlehem under the age of 2.  Fast forward 2000 years, Christians have grown accustomed to having our beliefs integrated into our political structures. God has been on our money and in our pledges and on our landmarks. God has been on the lips of our leaders. God has been called upon to guide our causes and our course so often that I think we have forgotten that this nation was founded on the notion of free will and equality.  In history books we learn that the pilgrims came to America to escape religious persecution, I cannot believe that we would then turn around and create a government that is solely for one religion only.  We run the risk of becoming like the Muslim nations that adhere to strict Sharia law,  ruling from the Bible to the point of detriment for anyone not choosing to believe. Our power comes from what goes on in our hearts, our homes, our communities,how we treat others, how we spend our money and time. Not how many seats in congress we hold, or how many biblical laws we can force on other people through the courts and legislature.  For the first two hundred years, Christianity was hunted and persecuted.  It can happen again, and that's okay, because Christianity will survive.  We do not need the places and power we have carved out for ourselves in society and government to be Christians.  Matthew 4:8-10. He didn't come to be an earthly ruler.  He came to be the ruler of the hearts that chose to accept him.  Matthew 7:7-12.

  America is a democratic republic, it is ruled by the citizens that choose to be involved.  Not everyone here is Christian, and this is a good thing.  My wife,Teri, hit a point on the head when she was brushing our daughters hair before school one day. Kayley mentioned something about how everyone should like something that she was interested in, and Teri replied with "well, that would be boring, if everyone was the same and liked the same things".     We have people from all over the world here. We have people that believe in different interpretations of God, some believe in no God. Some that believe in science, some that scream for proof. We have, in the words of MLK Jr. " blacks whites Jews and Gentiles".  We have homosexuality and polygamists. We have people from every corner of the earth in our country and most of them are citizens. How dare we have the conceit and pride to think that we can force our Christ on them through laws; proclaiming that our government is only for us and our faith.  If this is a belief we hold onto, we are no better than the Taliban, and have no business calling on the name of Jesus.

People came to Jesus. He gave them choice.   Matthew 19:16-30.  He didn't command the rich young man to follow him, he told him what he needed to do and gave him a choice.  The same principle that our gov. Is based on.  America is about choice.  We are free to stay or leave, choose pro life or pro choice. Gay marriage or strict man woman marriage. But I find hypocritical the allowance of divorce for those that cite the bible for not allowing homosexuals to marry.  We have to remember that choice is the foundation for everything we believe in:politically and religiously. God placed both trees in the garden, told him the consequences and left it up to him (Genesis 2:15-17).  "All men are created equal.  Not just Christians, or straights, or rich men, or politicians.  ALL.  Everyone has the right to pursue happiness for themselves as long as it doesn't trample the right of others to pursue their happiness as well.  Westboro Baptist Church does more to harm the cause of Jesus in one afternoon than ten churches could hope to do for the cause in a year.  The idea that Jesus would stand on a street and shout hate and spew the venom that these people who claim to be for Christ is absurd.  Jesus would love these people, comfort them. These soldiers died protecting freedom. The right to choose. The very right that WBC is using to damn them.  We can hate the choices people make, we can abhor lifestyles, but those are choices other people have to make for themselves. They do not affect the choices we choose for our own lifestyles. And it should not affect us showing them Gods love, or living for God.  Does your neighbors faith affect whether you pray with your family?
 We must be careful of the expectations we have in life. We cannot and must not expect everyone to accept Jesus and his message.  Jesus himself knew that not everyone would accept his words. (Matthew 13:1-15),but they need to hear and make the choice themselves. Churches must also be careful when the are seeking direction or are met with the option of change or adaptation to the current culture around them. Leadership must remember that we are not of this world.  That what God has in mind, and what we think we want, are most likely two very different things. We must open ourselves up to God's direction, rather than going about our business, in Gods name, and missing what he is showing us because of our preconceived notions. God wants us to "be still, and know that I am God".  He doesn't boom from the mountain any more, he whispers, and you can't hear whispers over the shouts of your own expectations.

A co-worker once asked how I can carry on in this job with such a light heart ( this was during a time when management was being particularly hard on everybody), I simply said: "do you think I could do this job day in and day out if I really thought this was all there was?"  And I walked away.  My job is not what I hoped it would be when I was growing up.  I thought I would be a teacher or make my living writing or making art.  This is not what I expected.  A janitor. A night janitor at a retail store.  In the worlds eyes (and, honestly sometimes in my own), I am a loser. A nobody.  I have no earthly power.  My job can fire me at the slightest whim and I'm two pay checks from a tent along side the highway.  The only reason I am where I am is love. Christ has had a power in my life that can only be explained by the world as chance or luck.  However, every circumstance that has had a positive impact on my life has had its roots in Jesus and Love.  The negatives, when i have turned away from these foundations. The power and might of Christians does not come from wealth, political power, careers, outspokenness, cars, position in our church; it comes from the love of Jesus being shown by all Christians....to everyone. All the time.

This is how Christianity works. This is what Jesus was trying to show us through his example.  It didn't come from a big church building or a huge membership. Didn't come for worldly power, didn't work through the military, taught and offered THE choice.  Follow the words that have been given, or don't. This life is yours to make your choices with.  Others will not make the same choices. Should we be threaten by them? No, but rather we should guard our own hearts and families with the Word.  Our expectation should be Gods will. Our words and actions should be based in biblical love. Our lives should be based on our relationship with Christ and our love for others. By His own words: the greatest commandments are to love God and love others.  Power, control, expectations, hatred and fear have nothing to do with Christianity.