| Philosophy
It Doesn't
Matter...
…what
you have been doing for the past twenty years or what you did last
night.
…if you are
politically conservative or liberal.
…if you feel like
you have all of the answers or if you haven’t got a clue.
…if you are
married, un-married, have children, pregnant or hate kids.
…if
you are unemployed or working; selling cars or selling yourself.
…if you prefer coffee, tea, wine or beer.
…if you
desire the opposite or the same sex.
…if you
grew up attending a church or have never been to one in your life.
…if you believe in God or believe you are a god.
It doesn’t
matter because we all desire the same things; to be loved and
accepted unconditionally. I once read a quote that said,
"People deserve to be loved because they exist. And that
love has to come without a price tag." What "price
tag" do we pin on our acceptance of other people? We are
all just a bit more judgmental, prejudice, and critical than we might
choose to admit or even realize. But how do we want others to
see us? Don't "they" all deserve the same?
Our Inspiration
We believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God, that He died for
our sins and then came back to life 3 days later...for real!
Because of this, He is our hero, savior and best friend. Jesus
made some pretty crazy, extreme, counter culture statements that still
seem as radical today. Check this out...
“You
have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your
enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in
heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and
he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those
who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax
collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are
you different from
anyone else? (Matthew
5:43-47 )
“Do to
others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence
of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
(Matthew
7:12)
"Be
especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't
make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God
who made you won't be applauding. When you do something for
someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in
action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting
and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as
someone is watching, playing to the crowds." (Matthew
6:1-2, but check out the entire chapter)
“Teacher, which is
the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all
your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and
greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the
prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew
22:36-40)
"'For I was hungry and you gave
me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you
clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and
you came to visit me.' "Then
the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and
feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did
we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe
you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell
you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers
of mine, you did for me.'" (Matthew
25:35-40)
“You know
that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials
flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be
different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your
servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of
everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(Mark
10:42-45)
Some of his friends
said some radical things, too...
"Anyone who
sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is
self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real
religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this:
Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard
against corruption from the godless world." (James
1:26-27)
"What good is
it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can
such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I
wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about
his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by
itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James
2:14-17)
"This is the
kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid
of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the
hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on
the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around
at once. Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage." (Isaiah
58:6-9)
"The Spirit of the
Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to
preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's
favor..." (Isaiah
61:1-2a)
A Better Question
Too often, those of us who believe Jesus is the Son of God spend our
time creating a comfortable home for ourselves, thinking about,
"What kind of church do I want?" or in a futile and endless
search for the ever elusive "good Christian"
life.
The great Danish
philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (May 5, 1813 – November 11, 1855)
offered a similar diagnosis:
The matter is quite
simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we
Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be
unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we
understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words
in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself
to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my
whole life will be ruined. How will I ever get on in the
world?
Herein lies the problem with Christian scholarship. Christian
scholarship is the church's prodigious invention to defend itself
against the Bible, to ensure that we can be good Christians without
the Bible coming too close.
The modern-day
musician and social activist Bono (of U2 fame) has said (YouTube
link),
It's not a coincidence that in the
scriptures poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It's not
an
accident.
It's a lot of air time. The only time Jesus Christ was judgmental
was on the subject of the
poor, 'As you
have done it unto the least of these my brethern, you have done it
unto me.'
A better question
and our motivating philosophy has become, "What kind of world does God
want?" A radical transformation needs to take
place in our thinking and our action; with a shift away from "me" to an emphasis on
love, mercy, grace, concern, and care; on how Jesus has taught us to live our lives
for Him and for the benefit of others.
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