Tuesday, January
15, 2019
We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. 1 John 5:18-21(NLT)
In public discourse words matter…greatly! The chasm between the terms inclusive
and exclusive
has grown to the point where there is almost no balance. Those who live in the United States abide
under a governance of laws, which, by definition, are systemic lines between
what is allowed by society, and that which is not! Actions or deeds that are unacceptable under
the law are excluded, not permitted.
The term inclusive in today’s
cultural jargon is the child of a political correctness shift which evolved out
of larger human rights’ movements; particularly the waves of racial, gender,
and sexual identity struggles. To demand
inclusivity for such is a matter of claiming no barriers can exist, and those
which do are artificial and heinous, harmful to society. Anything suggestive of a lesser standard is
labeled phobic, or close to the line of a hate statute. In other words, to suggest any exclusion in
an era of total inclusion excludes he or she who suggests
such. And that, to the extent of being
labeled a loathsome bigot…worthy of being ostracized from our enlightened, and
more sophisticated company; perhaps, if bad enough...jail time!
Fast-forward to the land of
reasonable balance, located on the border between double-standard and logic. If we as a (human) race demand total
inclusivity, law will be outlawed; only anarchy will do. When restrictions are levied by those in
charge (necessitated by judgment of others that you are outside of the
acceptable lines) total inclusivity is not a possibility. The simple truth about anarchy is that it doesn’t
work…ever!
Without pushing this envelope past
its capacity, let me cut to the chase. Those
who demand total inclusiveness might consider that means they must
also “include” or tolerate (at least) those who would exclude them! To live in any integrity with this idea of
total inclusivity means you must accept everyone who is different
from you as equal, valid, and welcome…even those who don’t accept you, to the extent
they despise the ground upon which you tread.
The ideals which spawned recent inclusivity
movements are not without merit, and in some instances long
overdue. The problem with most
movements, however, is that they attract, and even support radical partisan-ism
to a fault. You wind up with adherents
to a movement whose agenda, whether hidden or overt, is to consign the object
of their hatred to becoming the new oppressed group. It is rarely a matter of serving the constituency
of the movement. Rather it frequently becomes
just a matter of revenge. It gets out of
hand, and you have mob-mentality instead of civil discourse, from which comes out-of-control
knee-jerk pushback from the law-keepers, and pandemonium, bedlam masquerading
as an honor-driven revolution; which it is not…it’s just violence.
So, this morning we’re talking
human nature, which trends towards selfishness, anger, and disorder, all in the
name of the holy grail of inclusive political correctness. Lord, help us, we need someone with a better
idea!
Thankfully there is One who does
have that better idea. God is really in-to
being inclusive. That’s why Jesus Christ
came to die for us. His sacrifice
cleanses us from our sins and includes us in God’s forever family. It puts exclusiveness in our hands; the
choice is ours to accept or reject God’s inclusive, open arms…or not.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. 1 John 5:12(NLT)
For You Today
If you’re looking for a better
way, come to He who said, I AM the way!
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