God Takes No Sides

GOD TAKES NO SIDES

 

Is there anything more paradoxical and ironic than seeing a house or senate hearing on whether someone lied? I have always defined politics as one liar calling another liar a liar. And when you have a roster of liars interrogating other liars it does make for some great Kabuki Theatre. And millions of partisan Americans watch as if they were watching a sporting event as they root for their side to score points against the other “team”. All that’s missing are home and away jerseys.

And the news whores from both sides feast upon the spectacle with great relish. Fox News shares their angle while MSNBC shares their bias as well. But please, if you are a follower of Jesus you must realize that Christ is in none of it and He does not take sides…He IS the side.

So as you view the hypocritical and even adolescent exhibition in the political arena just remember that our God reigns supreme and is not interested in the games men play, especially the most favorite game in politics called hypocrisy. It is an interesting game in which the church has demanded a seat at the table. And graciously the politicians have welcomed the church to their game, or in fact vice versa.

Josh.5: ¹³ And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

¹⁴ And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
¹⁵ And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

Joshua saw the man with a sword and demanded to know if he was for or against Israel. But this was God’s messenger and he told Joshua that he was on no one’s side but he was the Captain of the Lord of Hosts. Whether or not that was a Christophany, an Old Testament appearance of Jesus, is not the point here. The point here is that God will not be used to forward man’s agenda. He demands man come to His “side” with complete faith and surrender.

We have so lost the vision of a holy and sovereign God who now acquiesces to the whims of man as we attempt to change the culture to look like we desire. When did a culture that is pro-life and pro-traditional marriage please God? It doesn’t. Do you think God approves of a pluralistic society? Is that the jealous God you see in Scripture? How can we even imagine God approves of a culture which worships Baal, Dagon, Allah, and a thousand other false caricatures of Jesus? Where oh where did the church ever get such a notion?

We are in fact mocking God when we attempt to build some moral Tower of Babel so we can claim we are a “Christian” nation and of course the common declaration, “America is the greatest nation of earth”. What hubris! What self righteousness! You can understand that kind of idolatry emanating from unbelievers, but from those who profess Jesus? You can only wonder what Jesus people claim to follow. But there is only one Lord Jesus and all others are imposters of death. There is no American Jesus, no founding fathers Jesus, no capitalist Jesus, no democracy Jesus, no George Washington Jesus, no conservative Jesus, no, away with all those false gods.

There is one and only one Jesus the Son of God. Only one. All of us are on a journey to see and worship and serve more clearly. None of us can claim we know Him in all His fullness, but none of us should create Him in our own image. And in America the hubris runs so thick that it has permeated the church and even in the evangelical community Jesus has been shaped and molded and like a doctrinal marionette the church has made this Jesus dance to the tune of our choosing. But be very careful, this Jesus that dances to the music of men is not the Risen Christ and the Jesus who will come again to this planet in great glory and great power.

This is a very serious issue which the church has refused to even acknowledge. The ecclesiastical structure and culture is so entrenched in this secular culture that it not only ignores any correction, but it fiercely defends all its constructs and belief systems with great vigor. And is it any wonder why? It is in the best personal interest of the leaders who benefit greatly from such a system to fortify it, protect it, and convince their listeners that they speak for God.

The whole rotten system is little more than a corpse, still twitching its religious muscles, but neatly wrapped in a bright and attractive sarcophagus adorned with all kinds of sparkling activities. It is most appealing to those dead in trespasses and sins. And when they are lured inside and find a comfortable place to raise a family they are quickly assimilated into the Eli Whitney brand of Christianity. It is warm and sociable and affirming, but it does not serve Jesus.

Imagine yourself going to an airline ticket counter. And you ask the representative if they are selling tickets to a certain city. She scans her computer and informs you that there are no flights to that destination. Surprised you ask her to check once again. She turns the computer so you both can see and sure enough there are no flights to where you want to go, and even the closest ones are very far from your desired destination. You thank her and slowly walk away wondering what you are going to do. You now realize that if you wish to go to that certain city you will have to get there on your own.

Look around you. Most churches are not going where you want to go, and if you desire to pursue Jesus you will have to take that journey on your own, or, with His gracious help. And if you truly desire to pursue Jesus with all your heart you will have to reject some things and leave them behind. You will have to reject politics. You will have to reject nationalism. You will have to reject hero worship in the church. You will have to reject moralism. You will have to reject hatred. You will have to reject all the many and varied bastardized versions of Christianity.

But most of all you will have to reject yourself.

Do not give up pilgrim, but make sure you always are just a pilgrim.

You have no home here.

You never will.