Golden

"In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:12-14 NAS95

Everywhere we turn there is someone yelling, yeah, I do mean yelling, that they are not being treated fairly. Organizations everywhere are employing people to come into the workplace and tell people how to treat one another. Others are spending thousands of dollars to study how we can be more inclusive, and respectful. While I am not opposed to the efforts to educate our world on being more respectful, I am disturbed that we even must consider such activity.

Why am I disturbed? Because you have failed, as I have failed, to follow the basic teaching of Christ. Long ago someone said, “the most segregated part of society is the church.” Slowly that is changing, but it is still very true today. There are churches that identify with a specific part of our total culture. Those designations are by race, color, language, etc. Not to mention denominational basis and attitudes. I get it, we all have differences, but we do not celebrate the differences, instead, we attack one another for not being as smart, sophisticated, intellectual, faith-filled, spiritual, etc., etc., etc.

I am not advocating we drop our convictions for an all-inclusive gospel. Contrary to that notion, I am advocating that I allow you to have a different opinion and understanding. But I digress from where I was going with this musing.

Our failure revolves around the very fact that we need people to teach us how to act toward one another. We are spending millions of dollars annually in this country to tell us what the church should have been saying all along. To teach us what Jesus taught during His sermon on the Mount is one of the very first things He did after He began His ministry.

When I was a kid, it was put out there as the “Golden Rule.” It was found everywhere you went. Stores gave out yardsticks with the golden rule printed on them. It was on the bulletin board in the hallway of my grade school. It was behind the counter at Baumgartner’s convenience store, the local little grocers that we would swipe candy from, and he would call our parents, and we would have to go back and pay for the candy. (Once with my dad giving me a swat just about every step of the way back.)

What was that “Golden Rule?”

“do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

There it is, simple, precise, and based on the Bible verse Matthew 7:12. Plain, simple, and revolutionary. Why is it revolutionary? Start treating people as you want to be treated and find out. But…you already do? Are you sure? As much as I try in my own life to be the person that treats everyone the same, I find I have a bias from time to time that I dislike in myself. Are you honest enough with yourself to recognize the bias in yourself?

Here is the struggle, I am repulsed by some lifestyles and behaviors. I want to treat those who present them as inferior human beings. When I do, I am saying to them, I wish to be treated as an inferior human being.

Most of the worst discrimination in history occurred in the name of the church. It is disturbing to think that we still have people who practice discrimination in the name of the church. Let me be very clear here. I am not advocating that we legitimize sin or sinful lifestyles. I am saying that we need to truly love our neighbors as we love ourselves. If I am going to stigmatize a sinful act and discriminate against it, stigmatize a race and discriminate against it, stigmatize a religious belief and discriminate against it, then I have a real problem. Doing any of the above and I must discriminate against myself. You see, like Paul the Apostle, I wrestle with sin, (see Romans 7, a small part of my DNA is from a truly hated race, and let’s face it some people don’t always like my theology, there could be someone reading this musing who is upset with me.

It is my belief that it is time for the church to start acting like the glorious church that Christ can return to call to eternity. One way we can do that is to seek to live our text for today. Any thoughts?