Thursday, April 8, 2021

Of Politics and Pariahs

 

Thursday, April 8, 2021

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.  A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.  And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.  They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.  They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity — all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.  And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.  Acts 2:42-47

Pariahs, or outsiders, are just that, outside that which is accepted or expected by those on the inside.  In human relationships, that political dynamic equation never changes.  In America the insider (powerful) and outsider are determined at the ballot box; when either Dems of the left, or GOP’s of the right sit in the seat of the top dog, it is the other group who are left standing…outside.  In today’s cultural hot topics it can be expressed this way:

Those on the left or right are pariah to those on the other side.

No matter whether you favor the political left or right, both have in plain view a demonstrable Christian basis (if you dig hard enough in Scripture to find it…and also ignore the plain context that hurts your viewpoint).  The group of Jerusalem believers in Acts lived like “nearly Socialist” left-leaners, selling-off everything for the common benefit.  On the other side of the aisle, “nearly Laodicean, right-leaning capitalists”[1] rested in their wealth to create their perfect environment.  There you have Biblical foundation, much like Judas who was looking for the Messiah, but for all the wrong reasons.  Judas followed Jesus around hoping he would fulfill Judas’ hopes and dreams for a chance at being an insider, ejecting the pariah Roman occupation forces from Palestine.  His was the same line of reasoning rabid uber-nationalists stormed the Capitol in January….if you can’t see and do things the way I see and do things, there’s gonna be a fight to the death!

Political struggles are idealogical, centered in agenda, preferences, and greed.  They are not nearly as much grounded in ethics or moral behavior for the common good.  In the end, political struggles are all about winning and losing, never being our brother’s keeper.

When it comes to political struggles (from a theological viewpoint), those who are truly Christian will be pariah to both the left and right!

Getting back to the belivers at Jerusalem.  All the devotion to prayer, shared meals and generosity was voluntary.  Devotion to God’s ways produces awe/reverence/fear of God, which, in turn produces willingness towards trust, fellowship, brotherhood, joy, and generosity.  That will never come out of Washington.

The other side benefit is the answer to the problem in the church we see today of empty pews….when people start truly living in God’s ways, the trust, fellowship, brotherhood, joy, and generosity will be irresistable to people seeking meaning; the churches would constantly have the (joyful) problem of standing room only!

For You Today

Being a pariah goes against the human natural desire to fit-in, and be liked.  But that is different from what Jesus said (through Apostle Peter):

You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.  1 Peter 2:9

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

[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

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