Engage, but Not Endorse

From 1st John Chapter 1:
5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

God is light - Jesus said that not only was He the light of the world, but that we are the light of the world - in other words, as we walk in Him, we display His nature, and become His voice in the culture.

So, in light of what I call a Christian responsibility to be a "cultural conscience", communicating and displaying a sense of right and wrong, of moral absolutes, I began to think about how to be that light to those with whom we disagree, inspired by an article in The Blaze.

It's called, "Occupy Faith: Leftist Pastors Offer Protestors Shelter & Support During the Cold Winter Months".   Now, the article focuses on pastors who sympathize with the cause.   I am NOT such a sympathizer - as Dan Gainor and I discussed the other day,  and I agree, the Occupy movement, at its root, is designed to cause chaos.  Just look at the number of arrests and the rhetoric of those who outspokenly advocate violence.  And, it is driven, in part, by an entitlement mentality

I understand that a disdain for so-called "corporate greed" is consistent with Scripture, but if we don't like a company's policies, then we can express that directly and specifically, and even stop buying its products if we have evidence they are being greedy...that's the beauty of capitalism, which rewards responsibility, hard work, and creativity - some good Biblical virtues - and it can punish bad business practices.    

Now, in the Occupy movement, there are those that have fallen on hard economic times, and in their anger and frustration, may be lashing out at the status quo.   And, as the church, this gives us an opportunity to reach out and minister.   In fact, it's not a bad thing, actually, quite a good thing, for a church to provide shelter and warmth for those protestors - without embracing the cause!   It could give us a chance to speak truth and live out Biblical compassion.    

This is World AIDS Day, and as compassionate Christians, we can engage the culture on this issue, without embracing the homosexual lifestyle, where AIDS is rampant.   I think when we first become aware of the virus, the church may have looked at it merely as gay disease, and the consequences of bad behavior.  

But, AIDS is rampant on the continent of Africa and a health concern around the world - and it affects people no matter what their sexual orientation - and Jesus calls us to minister to people, despite their lifestyle choice, realizing that our compassion may draw them into a relationship with Himself.

Thanks to Christian organizations such as World Vision and leaders like Rick & Kay Warren, Christians are
engaging on this important health issue, without endorsing the homosexual lifestyle.   And, it's a tricky, highly political issue...there are gay activists that want to gain sympathy by exploiting the AIDS epidemic, but I believe the Biblical perspective is for us to remain pure ourselves, and also to engage the victims with compassion and truth.

So, we can be challenged to continue to spread God's love and nature - He is light, in Him there is no darkness, and in His word we find moral absolutes and a firm foundation for our culture.