…the day many Christians in America demonstrate that it’s easier to have an agenda than a gospel. I have been urged by so many to show my support for a Christian-owned, fast-food chain being “oppressed” because of its vocal stance on … what was it again? Christ and Him crucified? The “least of these”? Loving our enemies? Turning the other cheek? Are we being attacked for something Jesus wanted us to be saying and doing in the first place? Do our agendas communicate the gospel of Christ or distract and confuse?
I agree it is SO much easier to fight for a social/political cause than to just be sharing the gospel. I have had the same problem. I found it so much easier to talk about obedience to God and the rules than to focus on Jesus. That is a good summary of my Christian witness until a few years ago.
When I was younger, political causes often sucked me into their fervor. I’ve always been interested in politics and had started pursuing political science in college. I ascribed to dogmas and drew lines between “us” and “them” based on philosophy and culture. Just like false religion feeds the pride cycle of being the MOST right, most political agendas do as well. I have not seen love and compassion come out of these Christian political movements, but there is plenty of fear, hate, personal attacks, misrepresentations, half-truths, and a righteous indignation toward all the unspeakable sins of this evil world.
As I’ve grown older and less willing to follow preachers or politicians, and wanted only a Jesus Worldview, I see things really differently than I used to. A Biblical worldview is a deceptive word. Muslims have a pretty Biblical worldview, as do followers of Judaism. They believe in Creation, judgment of sin by a Holy God, and morality. But neither of these religions have Jesus, or His Good News. Christians as well can tout a Biblical worldview without any grace or love. Without any Jesus.
I love it when I find other authors who say what I want to say, only better. Here is an excerpt from Carl Medearis in his book, Speaking of Jesus. He went to a coffee shop in his hometown where he liked to hang out (a place Jesus would probably spend His time too, on the wrong side of the tracks), and started asking questions.
One day I took a notebook and started polling every person I could get my hands on. I wanted to test out some word associations. I worked for a couple of hours, and I got some surprising results. The most striking responses I got were the replies to questions like “What do Christians do?”
Eighty-five percent of the people polled said the same thing, each in different words. “Christians are against things. They fight us and judge us and they hate us.”
That should set us all back on our heels.
…Guess what Jesus was never accused of? Of being against things. He wasn’t defined by His hatred of things. Imagine if He were.
“Here comes Jesus the sin hater.”
“Jesus, Son of David, opposer of liberals, have mercy on me, a sinful man!”
Or, Jesus asks the disciples…
“Who do you say that I am? “
“Easy, Jesus.” Peter raises his hand. “You’re against the Romans, the Samaritans, the barbarians, and the French!”
The author goes on to say that the people he talked to were very interested in Jesus, as long as He didn’t have anything to do with Christianity. I think there is enough evidence to suggest that we have failed miserably to show the world who He is… in the United States at least.
I do not like the manner in which we have drawn the attacks, nor in the way we have responded to them. Jesus promised we would be hated of all men, but I don’t think He meant through political, social agendas. This wasn’t His way. Real persecution comes when we really follow Him, not when we act out of fear of losing our “way of life”.
We act surprised that anyone would dare infringe on our right to say what we want. And instead of communicating love to those people who are behaving exactly as we should expect them to act, we fight back with a crusade to continue proving we are right and God is on our side.
I am amazed how many Christians will rally around a chicken sandwich because they are so opposed to gay people having legal rights, and so concerned that we maintain the right to speak out against them. What if Christians in America could rally around Christians who are really truly suffering for their witness, such as this man who spent many years in a prison because he shared Jesus with three families in a single village? He was beaten, deprived food, kept in solitary confinement, forced to labor gathering firewood for YEARS in a jungle. All for Jesus. Not an agenda. How many Christians in the U.S. are sharing in this fellowship of suffering, with Jesus, and our brothers and sisters? In all my years of trying to advocate for the Persecuted Church, these beautiful souls have never gotten the kind of support that a wealthy Christian business family is finding. Forgive me if that breaks my heart.
In John 12:26 Jesus said, “If anyone serves Me, He must follow Me. Where I am, there My servant also will be.”
Are we with Jesus? Or have we let someone else define for us what it means to be a righteous Christian? I know I have allowed other voices to shout Him out many times. But thankfully when they have worn themselves out, His still small voice is still there, urging us to Himself.
8thDay4Life 
Amen!
Our American view can be so narrow =o/.
Sondra, I appreciate your writing this. You are always thinking. I agree and disagree with you. You are SO right that we are cowards about really sharing the gospel-I am at the front of the line. Your point is well taken that we should and that is how we can reach people for Christ. But, then you bring up those who are suffering because they did share the gospel, just in a place where sharing the gospel is forbidden. To me that is what the chicken sandwich is all about, preserving the freedom to share the gospel. That chicken sandwich has been called many other things this week, and many of them are valid, but at the root of it is how free will we be to share our faith. So I think I will support Voice of the Martyr’s and Chick-fil-a, and pray for a a brave heart to share the gospel.
I don’t see that the attitudes I am observing in this situation will do anything to preserve our freedom. And I still find it sad we (collectively) are mostly only concerned with our own. I stand with any person’s right to speak their opinion. I told my lesbian friend I thought it was wrong to attack someone for stating an opinion. But they also object to the financial support the company gives to organizations dedicated to depriving them of their legal rights. They don’t understand or believe our worldview. From their side it looks like arbitrary intolerance and hate. Maybe if we found a way to love them while we stand up for our freedom, it would be different. But the overall conservative mindset is that we can attack and boycott any other business that supports them. My point is that this whole approach is a universe away from the way I read Jesus. And… I better just stop. Ha. Thanks for the input! I do understand what the motivation is.
What is bothering me is that this issue has gone beyond freedom of speech. When we were driving home tonight there was a huge traffic jam (which was quite unusual at that time of day), and when we finally got close enough to see what was the cause, we saw cars lined up for blocks to drive into the Chik-fil-a. That is fine, really fine, but this is what concerns me: there were two distinct groups of people standing in front of the restaurant. One on one side supporting traditional marriage, the other side supporting gay rights and enduring the scorn of the majority.
This is the public face of those who claim to follow the Son of Man whose mission was to seek and to save those who are lost. Mother Theresa held her traditional Catholic beliefs, yet that was not what people saw of her. While Amy Carmichael was serving her Lord during a lifetime in India, she never allowed political talk to change the subject away from her efforts to save children and share the gospel.
Our Lord and His followers shared the gospel freely even though it often cost them their lives. Yet their witness still speaks. God was with them.
Sondra, thank you for writing this post. Risa is so right. You cause us to think. I had not even thought about the deeper issues here until I read your post.
We are living in a country that is so free and yet, many freedoms are being eroded. It takes these present day Martyrs to show us what is most important.
I agree with both you and Risa on both sides of the coin. We must stand up for our freedom to share the gospel, even if it is a chicken sandwich, but at the same time I wonder, why does it seem like it’s always the Martyrs of countries where there are no religious freedoms to show the true love and mercy of Jesus to others?
I believe we must be the light to others, even if we can’t stand another person’s thinking. If they see Christ in us and His love for them, perhaps, hurting people can utimately know Him for themselves.
To me, having the freedom to do that is important, but I wonder, am I am better at sharing the gospel than my beloved brothers and sisters who have no freedoms? I seriously doubt it.
Great questions that really convict my soul, dear Sondra.
I found your post very thought-provoking and have forwarded to quite a few people. It helped me to put in perspective this whole issue. We are talking about gay marriage here in NZ as well because there is a bill for it coming up before Parliament soon. It helps to think of this as a symptom of the illness rather than a cause. The true illness is rebellion against God and separation from Him, and it is manifested in many ways – greed, divorce, child abuse, etc. Stopping gay marriage will not bring us closer to God. Only Jesus can.
I grew up in a Muslim country where Christians are oppressed, discriminated against, reviled and sometimes persecuted, so the cause of the Suffering Church is close to my heart. Thank you for bringing it up here.
Regarding Christians in politics, the first time I voted, when I was 19, I voted for a Christian party which only just failed to get into Parliament. One of the leaders of that party is now in prison for child sex abuse. You could say I’m more than a little disillusioned. Sometimes I think about giving up on voting altogether.
Hi Johanna! I love to hear input from outside our borders too! I am always curious about what our circus looks like from the outside. Your comment brings up several issues I would like to write more about – things I’ve thought about so much the last year or so. It’s a direction that is not really in line with this blog – but it’s where I want to be writing. Might see a blog overhaul soon!