BWA6067@TAMAGEN (01/12/90)
I'm not quite so concerned about the condition of this list as Bill and some
of the rest of you, but I *do* see your reasoning and some of the reasons for
it. A couple of methodical remedies have been suggested for the alleged
"spite" and "hatefulness" occurring lately, and I wanted to comment.
The thing that concerns me most, I guess, is that there may be many people on
this list who have just recently discovered the truth of Christ and have just
recently begun to submit themselves to that truth. It's hard to know exactly
how many of them there are, but the numbers are unimportant. The crucial
matter is that while the rest of us may be considered relatively "strong"
Christians (and I use the term advisedly, OK?), our inability to respond
constructively to constructive criticism is not indicative of that fact. As
such, we do not present the proper example to the "weaker" (again, advisedly,
in the context of the word as it occurs in Romans 14) ones.
Christianity is not an atmosphere in which every issue is cut and dried
(forgive me this trite cliche) for every disciple. If it were, why would Paul
prescribe two completely different answers to the same problem depending upon
the conditions of the persons facing it in Romans 14? Why would Jesus justify
David for breaking the Law in Matthew 12? If it were, why would the Holy
Spirit lead Paul to write so strongly against the spirit of legalism in
Galatia? A desire to see things as globally black-and-white assumes that
every issue fits into that mold on a universal basis, and the above passages
suggest very strongly the contrary idea.
What does this have to do with our conduct on CHRISTIA? Part of our struggle
as Christians is to determine the individual application of Biblical
principles to our own lives. In order to do that, we must be educated as to
exactly what the foundational principles are, and therein lie the seeds of
disagreement. There is no dishonor in disagreement, unless the Holy Spirit
was leading Paul to sin by confronting Peter so harshly in Galatians 2, unless
the Holy Spirit was leading him to sin by causing him to write letters of
rebuke to the Corinthians and the Galatians, and unless the Holy Spirit was
leading Jesus to sin by openly and harshly rebuking the Pharisees. The fact
is that WE WILL DISAGREE, and we should make no apologies for it. Our task is
to retain our spirit of love and compassion without disdainful condescension
or unrighteous anger.
At some point, we all may have been at fault for any unpleasantness that has
befallen CHRISTIA. Maybe not, but it's likely. Remedying the situation will
not be accomplished by a system or a method, but rather by individuals
humbling ourselves before God AND, in a more difficult sense, before one
another. One day set aside for prayer and supplication is a good
thing...don't misunderstand me. But profound changes are not accomplished
that way; they are accomplished by *growth* in humility.
It's often easier to humble ourselves before God than before men because we
easily recognize that God IS superior to us; it's not so easy with man,
because we often do not consider that others are superior to us (we know that
they're not, in *fact*). Let me direct your attention to a very familiar
passage that addresses just such an issue: Philippians 2:1-16. Read it if
you like. We must learn to consider others better than ourselves. They're
NOT better than us, but we are to consider that their needs are more important
than our own.
To those who have launched critical attacks which were unconstructive, let me
suggest this: season your speech with salt and love, not with selfish
ambition or vain conceit (Phil. 2:3). To those who have unjustifiably taken
valid criticisms personally, and have struck back, let me suggest this:
consider your brother's needs more important than your own (vv. 3-4), and ask
about his motivations for saying what he did privately before you make a
foolish mistake of wrongly but openly and facetiously reprimanding him for
saying it. I fall into both camps, so I'll be joining all of you in this
effort!
We must learn to agree in PURPOSE while disagreeing in DOCTRINE (v. 2). There
is room for anger in that, if Paul and Jesus are our examples. Let's not shy
away from conflict over Biblical matters, because we need to learn God's will
better. Remember that the weaker brothers and sisters are watching us for an
example of how to deal with conflict. They must understand that truth is
important to us, so that we search for it endlessly, but that love for God and
for one another is still the great commandment that governs our approach to
that truth.
One last thing: if there is major and angry conflict, take care of it through
private E-mail. We don't need to see one another being publicly
humiliated...it's discouraging for the strong and the weak alike.
queue ball