Hey folks,
As I sit here enjoying my gounda (thank you previous
visitors) and onion omelet, I wanted to try and unpack a few things that have
been on my mind over the past few days as I have been reading through Psalms, specifically
chapters 9-12. I hope that I do not bore you with my theologizing, but who
knows maybe this clanging gong with make some sense.
Many people in this modern world and probably a quite a few
of those reading this blog think that Christianity is just for upper middle-class
white suburban families who have a yippy dog, eat white bread, have 2.1
children and drive minivans. Many people also find the commandment “Love your
neighbor as yourself” to be very easy to digest, but the idea of hellfire and
the wrath of an angry, all-powerful God to bring on the GERD. In my reading
(and some listening to Tim Keller) I have found these ideas to be completely
false and rather narrow-minded. Of course keep in mind that like everyone else,
I am a product of experiences and I type with my own worldview, but hopefully I
will be somewhat close to the truth, even if it is by accident.
First of all, the God of the Bible is not a god for the rich
and well-off, he is a God for the poor and oppressed. Ps. 9:9 says that “God is
a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” In 18, “The
needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish
forever.” The psalmist (who has a great name) lays out this drama in 10:2: “In arrogance
the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they
have devised.” And if that isn’t enough to convince you that God is for the
poor, check this out in 12:5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy
groan, “I will arise” says the Lord; I will place him in the safety for which
he belongs.” Now, this is not to say that only poor people can be Christians,
because Jesus said that rich people can “inherit the kingdom of heaven” but
that they have to overcome the obstacle of their wealth (which I will get to
soon). Nor am I trying to say that the organized church is always on the side
for the poor and oppressed, but rather that God always is for those who are
down-trodden. And this is not going unnoticed, Christianity is not primarily
growing the in the western, non-majority, civilized, developed,
whatever-you-want-to-call it, rich world, it is growing mainly in Africa, Latin
America, and SE Asia ie some of the poorest places on earth.
Next, this whole idea of an angry Old Testament, bible-thumping
God who is just ready to send people to hell. Everyone seems to like Jesus the good teacher who talking about loving
everyone, or those nice stories about David and Goliath, Elijah, or Daniel, but
who really wants to hear about an angry judging deity? Well let’s consider a
classic example, those in the crowd who have children or work with them in some
capacity have probably heard “that’s not fair!!” coming from one of your
favorite angels. Now, does this phrase typically follow something good or
something bad from the kids perspective? Does the child say that it’s “not fair”
that they just got a giant chocolate chip cookie for no apparent reason? Of
course not, they only demand fairness when something is taken from them, ie a
toy, privileges, fun. In the same way, most of us (including myself) in the western,
non-majority, civilized, developed, whatever-you-want-to-call it, rich world
don’t really want fairness or judgment because life has been pretty good for
us. But consider one of the residents that I work with who is originally from
Rowanda and had to witness the genocide there. People who had to suffer as many
losses as them completely understand it when chapter 11 says “His [God’s] soul
hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let Him rain coals on the
wicked, fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
For the Lord is righteous and he loves righteous deeds.” For those who have
been subjected to true physical, emotional, sexual, or Paul Farmer’s “structural”
violence, a God who “has established his throne for justice, and judges the
world with righteousness” sounds like a pretty darn good option. At the same
time, there is the age old desire for revenge and not that people shouldn’t be
held accountable for their actions, but to go all King James on you all, “Vengeance
is mine, I shall repay, sayth the Lord.” While this doesn’t make these other
suffering people’s lives any easier at that moment, they can rest in the
assurance that God will give them justice and let go of their hate.
Well, it’s getting
late, the omelet is long gone, and I am at the end of my theological rope so I should probably call it a night. Tomorrow morning I get to hike the mountain that overlooks the hospital so if it is not too foggy, I hope to have some sweet pics of the Rift Valley. Once again, I hope that you are all doing well and I look forward to seeing you
again soon!!
In Him,
David
No comments:
Post a Comment