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For most of my life, I’ve attended services at churches far and wide, representing a wide variety of Christian denominations. I’ve also met with other believers in homes, businesses, campgrounds and even a school building, but not one government official has ever even implied that such services should be stopped.
I’ve also been fortunate to go on several mission trips across the country – knocking on doors, inviting folks to special events and studying Scripture around their table. I’ve had doors slammed in my face and was told I was stupid for believing a myth, but not one government official has ever even implied that such trips should be stopped.
Several years ago, my oldest daughter spent a month at a Christian medical compound in Pakistan. In her first Sunday there, they met in a room with shrapnel from a grenade still present on a wall from a radical Islamic assault.
I say this to remind readers that freedom of religion is still very much alive in America – unlike much of the world. Thanks to some media fanning the flames, many Christians believe they are under attack nowadays in the United States, but real persecution is getting decapitated for not sharing the same faith as the person cutting off your head – not when the Supreme Court issues a ruling you don’t agree with.
Preachers are correct when they say God’s law is higher than man’s, but that doesn’t mean Christians should force our faith onto others. Just as we have a constitutional right to meet with like-minded individuals and send praises to the heavens, other Americans also have a right to stay home and not believe in any deity at all.
Some believers see this as the reason why our country’s culture and morality are declining, and there may be some truth to that. At the same time, mandating students to recite the Lord’s Prayer or draw pictures of Jesus at Christmastime did not magically create better people.
It’s fascinating to watch presidential candidates rally around issues like same-sex marriage, transgender issues and a stronger military. Yet, many of them also say government shouldn’t be involved in charity, even though Jesus constantly spoke in favor of helping the poor, while He didn’t discuss many other subjects in the gospels.
In the biblical sermon on the mount, Jesus blesses the poor, the peacemakers, the meek, the merciful and those who are in mourning. He tells us to turn the other cheek in the face of violence. He commands that we love our enemies, an astounding thing to say to people under burdensome Roman rule. Then He makes this oft-ignored statement: “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged.”
It’s inevitable that those who accept the Word will conflict with those who don’t. But the church’s standing in America today is being damaged more by the anger, hatred and self-righteous discrimination that’s resulting from the outrage.
Should you stand up for what you believe is the truth? Absolutely. But you can do it in such a way that doesn’t violate the Bible’s top two commands – love God with all you got, and love your neighbor as yourself. You can have faith to move mountains, Paul told the Corinthians, but if you don’t have love, you have nothing.
All of God’s creatures – whether they be Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness, Seventh-day Adventist, non-denominational, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist or something they just made up – deserve to know what John so bluntly stated: God is love. Regardless of how disappointed you are in a court, election or the world in general, please don’t miss that.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus also blesses those who are persecuted, telling them to rejoice and be glad. So smile if you feel that way, because God is with you.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or Twitter @daviddBstroh.