The apostle Peter writes,
“Dear friends,
I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
1 Peter 2:11,12.
Are you living good moral lives before people?
I hear many both inside and outside the media claiming to be Christians. Yet when you listen to what they say they come across as judgmental even bigoted in what they say. They even call on politicians to restrict the rights of groups they don’t agree with. If we are truly Christians we shouldn’t be doing this.
I’ve heard Christians applauding the fact that some African nation is placing homosexuals in prison. This should not be so.
Here in North America homosexuality is a hot button issue among Christians. There are groups calling themselves Christians who would restrict the rights of homosexuals simply because they disagree with them. This should not be so. Simply because we live in a free and democratic secular society. A secular democracy that affords we Christians the right to worship as we see fit.
As such we Christians should support the rights of others to have the freedom to act and worship as they wish, even if we disagree with them.
There are a lot of things I’m sure the apostles seen in their travels around the Roman empire that they disagreed with. Yet they didn’t sign petitions and send them to the Emperor demanding the practices stop.
We in North America and the western countries of the world are blessed to live in free and democratic secular democracies. The freedoms those democracies gave us has enabled the Gospel message to travel around the world.
Sadly some Christian groups are using that freedom to curse others. We cannot use that freedom to curse others. To try and restrict the rights of others. The apostle Paul writes,
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse....
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:14,17-21
Look at what Paul says,
“Bless and do not curse.”
“Do not repay evil for evil”
“Do what is right in the eyes of everyone”
“Live at peace with everyone”
“Do not take revenge.”
“Feed your enemy”
“Overcome evil with good.”
This is what a Christian should be doing not yelling at the top of their lungs “you are wrong and we are right” or “you’re going to hell”We should not be trying to restrict the rights of those we disagree with. Quite the contrary we should be doing our best to promote the rights and freedoms of others. In doing so we are also promoting our own rights and freedoms. As well as building bridges between ourselves and those we disagree with.
The late reverend Martin Luther King jr. at the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960's in the United States said,
"We thank thee, O God, for the spiritual nature of man.
We are in nature but we live above nature.
Help us never to let anybody or any condition pull us so low as to cause us to hate.
Give us strength to love our enemies and to do good to those who despitefully use us and persecute us.
We thank thee for thy Church, founded upon thy Word, that challenges us to do more than sing and pray, but go out and work as though the very answer to our prayers depended on us and not upon thee.
Then, finally, help us to realize that man was created to shine like stars and live on through all eternity.
Keep us, we pray, in perfect peace; help us to walk together, pray together, sing together, and live together until that day when all God’s children, Black, White, Red, and Yellow will rejoice in one common bond of humanity in the kingdom of our LORD and of our God, we pray.
Amen."
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
There is a teaching from the Jewish Talmud that I believe is perfectly in line with Christian teaching it says,
“When a man appears before the Throne of Judgment, the first question he is asked is not, “Have you believed in God?” Or “Have you prayed and observed the ritual? “He is asked: “have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”
The Talmud.
One day even Christians will be called before God to account for our actions on this earth. I think the above question from the Talmud might well be one of the questions God asks.
So what will your answer be to the question,
“have you dealt honourably and faithfully in all your dealings with your fellow men?”
Please think about it.
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