The One/Two Punch

God, help us to see each other. Not with the broken and cloudy eyes of sin, but through the filter of grace, mercy and love. We are all broken in one way or another—all looking to be made whole—but let us lean into the brokenness instead of ignoring it or reasoning it away. Ignoring the condition doesn’t make it go away and the wishing or wanting of it to not be true doesn’t send it packing either.

What is our preoccupation with wanting to point fingers and cast judgment rather than to take the time to lean into the brokenness? To stare down the ugly? To admit and repent for the ugliness and brokenness rampant in us all?

It’s easy to make statements from behind a screen—both lofty or hateful. It’s easy to assume we know what’s really going on and how we got to where we are today. It’s easy to look at the situation and miss the person; to look at the crowd and miss the individual.

It’s laughable and ironic even that we’ve created more and more tools to connect us but still find lines that divide. And it’s not that we’ve found the lines, but we’ve illuminated them. We’ve chalk out the lines of separation and difference with a sense of pride all the while failing to realize that we are chalking out the outlines of our own bodies like shapes at a crime scene. And we do it with pride, with laughter and great satisfaction!

We’ve boxed ourselves in, erected walls to keep them out while failing to realize that it now traps us in. And if we’re not careful, if we don’t take the time—moments like these to search our own hearts—we’ll find ourselves gasping for air. We will find ourselves reaching out, but no one will be there to save us.  

But Christians, Christians don’t do that! We know the value of community, right? We know how to love our neighbors as ourselves? It’s what we’re known for. Right? Right.

When I was little, my parents taught me the principal of gradual growth and we did the very same thing with our kids as I suspect you did as well. You don’t jump right to solid foods, you start with milk and then move to more solid foods. A baby doesn’t know how to walk at first, so at first, they crawl, then gain their balance and toddle along.

It’s gradual. It’s where we get the word graduation from. When you graduate one thing you move to the next. And you can’t really move to the next until you pass the thing you are currently in. It’s getting one thing at a time—doing one thing first before moving to the second thing.

The Gospels, with such simplicity and clarity give us the one/two punch.

One. Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. So, I’ll ask the question: have we passed the one? I think so. We love God and its likely because we realize what terrible state we were in when God found us. That naturally moves us to passion and prayer—relying on God to keep us and help us along the way. And when it comes to the display of our passion and the power of prayer, attending any church on any given Sunday and you’re likely to see that on display. Sure, we may not sing all the same songs (of course for reasons of accuracy and Scriptural authority we make sure we don’t accidentally say “sloppy wet” when we really mean “unforeseen kiss”).

Loving God, check. Passion and prayer. Check. Intelligence?

Oh yes, we love to talk about our own brand of religious intelligence! We know what Scripture is saying and have become specialists when it comes to doctrine, the do’s and don’ts of religion and it’s not that hard to extend or explain those components to any who are willing (or unwilling for that matter) to listen. Our intelligence of Scripture helps us separate who is deserving of God’s love and those living in a lifestyle that is dissimilar from our own, and it positions us to help those people—not by way of actual help, but more pointing out of all the things they are doing that are keeping them from God (identifying the problem but not actually giving them any help).

And bonus, we get to do it all on social platforms that the whole world gets insight to! Amazing! So, let me get this straight…I can take God’s love for me, personally, use it as a threshold of what the real love of God looks like, I can be passionate for Him, using prayer to show the depth of how much I love God and have been “set apart”, and then give the one/two punch of my intelligence in Scripture and communicate the ways God is speaking to me on a personal level and make that instantly universal. (Takes a deep breath) This. Is. Amazing.  

And while we are talking about bonus items, not only do we get to do this to the world—you know, those who are on the outs with Jesus right now—but I also get to do this with other Christians! I can let them know why following a pastor or preacher is so dangerous! That listening to a specific worship leader or band can really lower their theological potency of Scripture. I can engage in hours and hours and comb through post after post on topics I’m passionate about and feel obligated to address and straighten people out. Again—bonus—I get to do this on the world’s stage!

But what about the two? The second part, the second principal Jesus himself said was part of the greatest? 

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Hmm. Well, I mean, yah, we do that too. It’s more a side thing. You know, we’re busy doing all that other stuff that’s so important and wrapped up into the one thing.

Ok, ok, ok, enough of the sarcasm. What am I saying? If it’s not clear, let me take a moment to be a bit more overt.

Could it be that we’ve let things like racism, sexism and all the other isms in because we’ve gotten distracted and off track in the first principal? Of course, we know the correct response is to say how terrible and ridiculous and wrong things like this are (and we should), but is it just a band aid to a larger and more serious sickness? One that’s requiring more than a quick fix? A quick post on Instagram or Facebook?

And let me be first to say this: Of all the offenders, I am the worst. That’s how Paul felt, it’s how I feel even though I do my best every single day to not respond with bias or judgment. So, if like the Bible says there are spiritual principles in play, that we as Christians have been called to be the light and salt to the world around us, what is at the head flows down. Are we being the light and the salt in the one? Have we graduated to the two?

Have we perpetuated racism, sexism and judgementalism (and yes, I’m aware that’s not an actual word) because we’ve simply been doing it under another name? We are quick to extend bias to other Christians for all the reasons and examples I’ve given above, to spew hatred towards another lover of Christ because their brand is slightly different. Is it really that far-fetched to think we might be doing it when it comes to societal issues (or the issues we think we don’t have)?

And so, let’s where I’ll leave it and return to the prayer I started above.

God, help us but most importantly, help me. Help me to understand, comprehend and apprehend the value, wisdom and instruction of the one/two punch commandments that I think deserve more attention than I give them. Help me to see that if I did, it might take care of all the rest. It might naturally work out all the biases and isms that exist within me. God, that I would be both a lover of You and my neighbor regardless of color, religion or creed. Help me to see things for what they are and to be quick to do more than just say it’s not right. Help me to live the change I so desperately want to see—to what I think is the change that you so desperately want to see for all your kids.

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.