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^©

---

[1] See Revelation 3:17

Ubuntu

[1]

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Greed has many faces.  So does generosity.

This story is making its rounds on Facebook and made its way into my news feed: 

An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe.  He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told them that whoever got there first won the sweet fruits.  When he gave them the signal to run they all took each other’s hands and ran together, then sat in a circle enjoying their treats.  When he asked them why they chose to run as a group when they could have had more fruit individually, one child spoke up and said:  “UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?”  “UBUNTU” in the Xhosa culture means:  “I am because we are”.

This sounds very much to me like the early church.  After the day of Pentecost, when so many people believed and changed their ways to follow Jesus, the church was characterized by unselfishness and joy:

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—  Acts 2:46 (NLT)

Great joy and generosity is what the African children exhibited; they were joyful over the fruits and generous to share them.

It also sounds so 180⁰-opposite of what Solomon warned his child about – greed!

My child, listen when your father corrects you.  Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.  What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.  My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!  They may say, “Come and join us.  Let’s hide and kill someone!  Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!  Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.  Think of the great things we’ll get!  We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.  Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”  My child, don’t go along with them! 

Stay far away from their paths.  They rush to commit evil deeds.  They hurry to commit murder.  If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.  But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed.  Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.    Proverbs 1:8-19 (NLT)

Greed is a downward spiral that never ends pretty!

I commented on the Facebook post that this Ubuntu was Christianity in its purest form, where the community lifts and is lifted.  A friend countered with – so…Christianity is Socialism? 

Perhaps my friend was only playing “devil’s advocate” to stir the pot of conversation, but I took the bait willingly and responded – no…just hearts unchained to stuff.

Social media claim to enhance “community” but I’ve never seen megabytes and pixels sit in a circle under a tree sharing sweet fruits, affirming that the whole community is connected and glad of it! 

For that you need children to show the way!

For You Today

This world could use a little Ubuntu; what do you think it will take to move us close enough to each other to get it started?

---

[1] Title image:  via Wikimedia Commons