I’m hearing a strange hypocrisy creeping into Christian language. It’s a separation of what Christians believe to be right behavior (ethics) in the life of the church versus what we believe and how we act and speak in the affairs of the community. I’m afraid there is a deadly dichotomy growing in the minds of many Christians.
There is Nothing New Under the Sun
There have always been politicians and powerful business persons who have acted and spoken in less than Christian ways. The Christian Church has survived plenty of that. That’s nothing new.
And there have always been Christians who made excuses for it (on both sides of the political aisle). If the politician or powerful business person is on our side – we seem to overlook the disturbing, unethical, immoral, or distasteful behavior. If they are willing to give us what we want, we will wink at their unchristian language or behavior. That’s nothing new.
The more disturbing trend is the growing number of Christians who seem to be affirming a separation of beliefs (what we believe to be true and right) and ethics (how we act in the world based on those beliefs).
And what particular philosophy allows us to do this? I’ll give you a hint: It’s not Christianity. It’s Utilitarianism.
Christian Utilitarianism: An Ugly Paradox
Utilitarianism is the ethical doctrine that virtue is based on utility, and that conduct should be directed toward promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number of persons. 1
In other words, the ends justify the means. We have to fight fire with fire. We have to become the dragon to slay the dragon. We have to do whatever it takes to win. We have to be practical.
I hear that a lot lately. From Christians. We have to be practical. And what they are usually asking me to do is give up some long-held ethical standard in order to get what I want.
The problem is that if I am willing to sacrifice Christian ethics to get a Supreme Court justice, it’s not long before I am willing to do it to get a big business deal, or a government contract, or a new spouse. When winning (i.e., getting what I want) overrides the Spirit of Christ living in me, I lose. But more importantly, the world loses.
I think Jesus would laugh at the idea that we have to be practical. I say this because Jesus said some of the most impractical things ever spoken. And, I think he meant them. Literally. Here are just a few …
Four Impractical Things Jesus Taught
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matt. 5:44).
This may be the most radical and impractical thing Jesus ever said. Much of what Jesus taught can be traced back to traditional Jewish teachings, but not this one. This is unique to Jesus.
It is not practical to hate your enemy. It is not practical to pray for the one who is trying to blow you up. It’s not practical to love the one who is trying to crucify you. However, let me remind you that when Jesus made this statement the enemy he was talking about was trying to do just that to him.
“If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” (Matt. 5:39).
I’ve always had a problem with this verse. I also find it strange that a Hindu like Mahatma Gandhi was the one who took it literally and found the strange power of standing up to evil by sacrificing your own body. Gandhi brought down an Empire, in part, by “turning the other cheek.”
Martin Luther King changed our nation with this simple principle – protest by speaking truth to power and “turning the other cheek.” Eventually, the oppressor gets tired of slapping you. Eventually, your red cheek becomes a shameful thing to him, not you. It’s not very practical. But, apparently, extremely powerful.
“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21).
Before you dismiss this by saying that he was saying this to test a wealthy young man – let me remind you that his disciples all jumped in to say, “We have left all we had to follow you!” (Luke 18:28). Apparently, Jesus was simply asking the young man to do what he had already asked all his disciples to do – sell everything and follow him.
This is not practical at all. If I sell everything, how will we fund the work of Jesus? Didn’t Jesus have patrons who were funding his ministry? Yes, he did (Luke 8:3).
And yet, there it is – Jesus said that our treasure is not on this earth, but in heaven. He told us not to invest in the things of this world, but to invest in the things that last – the eternal (Matt. 5:19; Luke 12:33). He told us to sell everything and follow him.
“Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
This makes no sense at all. If I serve others, I tend to be the last to get everything. If I’m serving food at a banquet, for instance, I’m the last to eat. (And I may not get any food at all if they run out; and even if I do get some food, it’s usually cold by the time I get it).
Jesus told his disciples that the one who served the others would be considered the greatest among them and the one who tried to rule over the others would be the least (Luke 22:25). But, does this work in real life? It doesn’t seem practical.
Jesus, the Transformer of Culture
Richard Niebuhr in his classic work, Christ and Culture, reviewed the various ways the Church has historically interacted with the culture. The model of Christ Above Culture, according to Niebuhr, is the dominant voice in church history. He wrote that the fundamental issue is between God and humanity, not God and the world. 2
Jesus Came to transform the world. Jesus sees creation as good, affirms what can be affirmed and seeks to transform what is corrupted by sin and selfishness. He does this through his followers, who have died to self and live for Christ the Redeemer and Transformer.
Jesus didn’t call you to be practical. He called you to die to self – to pick up your cross – and follow him.
I don’t think you can die to self in the life of the church and then suddenly resurrect yourself when you step into the community. You can’t live for Jesus in the Church and live for yourself in the affairs of the nation.
And you can’t do this for one simple reason: The world will never be transformed.
