So we’ve got a few issues.
By we, I mean America and/or the World.
I also mean Christians. Sometimes
I think it’s tough these days to understand what it means to be a
Christian. On one hand it’s incredibly
simple. The word Christian breaks down
into the root and a suffix, “Christ” and “-ian.” It’s should be no surprise that it means,
“Christ – like.” So a Christian is
someone who wants to be like Christ.
Pretty simple, but until the rubber hits the road that is
just religious jargon. Religious jargon
is empty. It all sounds good, but it
means almost nothing. It leaves the way
open for most anything to mean…well…most anything. Do you remember what WWJD stands for? What would Jesus do? It’s an ethical question.
Christian Ethics is integrative. You take the biblical material, theology,
Church History, archeology, even science and look at specific issues and try to
figure out WWJD.
What does WWJD mean for the a politically polarized nation? What does it mean for a world that has huge
refugee problems? What does it mean for
healthcare? What does WWJD mean for the
national debt? What does WWJD mean for
taxation policy? Did you ever think of
that? Does your faith go beyond your own
personal morality? If it doesn’t it’s a
shallow faith.
Here’s the thing.
Most people have never been told, shown, or educated that their faith is
about anything other than their soul.
Their soul and other souls, but that’s it. That’s not the whole story. The biblical story told of God providing food
for the people wondering in the desert.
Jesus fed, Jesus healed. Many
people say they believe in a literal resurrection, a bodily resurrection, but
the theology is still couched around the soul and no other concerns.
But if the body is worthless why did Jesus heal it? Why should we provide for orphans and widows (or
generally those in society that need help) if all that really matters is their
soul? If the body didn’t matter why wasn’t
Jesus just resurrected into some angelic form with a halo and wings?
The answer is it does matter. What we do here on earth matters. Not just our personal morality. Did we kill anyone? Did we have an affair? Did we not burgle our neighbor’s
property? Now, don’t get me wrong. All that stuff matters. Other stuff does too. We were set in the Garden (and later outside
the Garden) and told to be stewards of that land. That’s not just a personal morality thing. That is a responsibility given to us that
impacts generation after generation. It doesn’t just impact the soul or the
body it impacts the earth. And it is
part of our responsibility as Christians.
In biblical times; there were dictators, pharaohs, and
Ceasars. But today we live in a
democracy. Put another way…now we are
part of Ceasar. The idea of giving unto
Ceasar was not specifically about giving to the man with the title, but giving
to the political entity running the nation.
When we are told to give unto Ceasar what is Ceasar’s what does that mean
now? As Christians and members of a
democracy we are to be stewards of our money, our time, and now…our taxes.
What policies would Jesus suggest or support? Healthcare, student loans, the financial
industry, immigration, campaign finance.
Does your faith speak to these issues?
Think about it.
