Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Excluding the Includable

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!
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com

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