M-G: 7.25.14 // Loosen up for God’s Glory

Recently, we were invited to a real estate promotion on the river. Beverly and I were not interested in purchasing any property there, but her nephew insisted that we attend. There would be live bands, marinas selling their water crafts, delicious BBQ (a great Baptist bait), and a great day for being outdoors by the river. So we decided to go to be supportive of her nephew’s business enterprise.

Arriving a couple of hours before it would end, it was everything her nephew said it would be – sunny skies, festive atmosphere, great food, and a very talented local band playing 80’s music. It was good to see old acquaintances, friends, and family members on Beverly’s side there. While the band was setting up and getting ready to perform, the leader of the band, a congenial and outgoing local businessman, was walking around and sporting with the crowd. Since this social gathering was billed as a family event, speech, actions, and alcoholic beverages were subdued much to my liking. On the back of this gregarious band leader’s shirt, however, were the words, “The liver is evil…. It must be punished.”

I got to tell you that when I first read that I chuckled. We find humor in the weirdest of places, or at least I do. It is probably one of those ubiquitous oxymorons found in a nation of free speech (for now) that makes you appreciate living in America. This man had no axe to grind and had no intentions to be offensive. He may even have been employing shock value; after all, I am talking about it! Personally, I would not have worn that shirt; for one, I don’t like the taste of alcohol, and two, it promotes something I choose not to promote, and three, I didn’t like the design of it. 

So, why am I writing an article which is probably going to find me misunderstood or found offensive? For one, even though I speak the truth that I believe to be biblically based with grace and love, I am still considered to be offensive (Jn 15:19). And two, because the overly serious types make self-righteous judgments, shooting off at the lip like a drunk with a gun, and saying hurtful things that portray Christians as fanatical, weird, angry, and wired tighter than white on rice. Well, that might be partly true of me for I have been characterized as fanatical because I quote so much Scripture and plaster Bible verses all over my blog. So sue me! SRPs (self-righteous people) do not represent Christianity truthfully; unfortunately, the world lumps SRPs and genuine Christians into the same pot; they possess no spiritual discernment (1 Cor 2:14) and can only make a subjective opinion that one lives what he or she believes more than someone else they know.  

With that said, I still thought what was screen printed on that shirt was funny because it was said in a way to reflect this man’s lighthearted passion for alcohol. I never saw him drink any alcohol while he was there working. This is not the first time something like this happened, and I am sure it won’t be the last. People can be very clever and funny with words and ideas regardless of the subject matter. Now if you are struggling with substance abuse, a recovering alcoholic, or experiencing cirrhosis of the liver, this may not be funny to you at all, and I get that. But don't you think that it would be more sensible to think the man is unwise and move on with your life than create a scene? Even if you don’t drink alcohol, this idea that "the liver is evil and must be punished" may not be very amusing to you and is still offensive. If you don’t have trouble with alcohol, you may see the humor in it and not be offended by going off the deep end.

Though the “liver was evil” was a very clever and funny statement, I would concede that it wasn't the smartest apparel to wear with kids running around, assuming they even read the words on his back. I am sure establishments selling wine and spirits would love the walking billboard singing in front of lots of people. We have never seen that happen, have we? The band did have another gig after playing on the river that evening where the band leader’s shirt would fit in like a jigsaw puzzle piece with the drinking crowd. Be that as it may, I was a guest and didn’t anticipate something like this nor took it offensive stomping off in disgust. If this was the worst that happened in a public gathering of lost and saved people with a personal interest in purchasing real estate property, then it was a good day.

Why am I telling you all of this? It’s because more often than not we get caught in the crossfire between the secular world and the religious world of the SRPs over things that is of little to no importance, like a hill of beans. Truthfully, I get indignant (cf. Isa 65:5) over the SRP’s reactions to things like this rather than the behavior (depending on what it is) of the world of the unwise or lost. A lost person doing what lost people do is not news; it’s normal. It’s not hypocrisy because they are being true to their sinful nature. Are we as believers being true to our new nature? I may not wear what worldly people wear, but no one is really asking me for my opinion. They are not going to display godly wisdom because they are ungodly. Depending upon what it is they are doing, I may have to separate myself from it. This was not the case that sunny afternoon. We are in the world but not of it, and I never approached the man and said, “I like your shirt!” Neither did I mistreat him or give him scathing looks that could kill! He actually was a very nice man, the free-spirited type.

It’s the SRPs behavior that is abnormal, unpredictable, unjust, unloving, and inconsistent. The Pharisees (the classical SRP) were heated up when Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors; remember (Mt 9:10-11; 11:19; Lk 5:30; 15:1-2; 19:7)? If we follow the SRP logic to its conclusion, it is this, “We keep to ourselves and to hell with everyone else!” SRPs do not reach out but to their own and condemn anyone within or outside their group that does not think or act like they do. It is a spiritual arrogance that grinds on my nerves. Everybody has a problem but them. They are the blind leading the blind and ditch destined (Lk 6:39).

Can we as believers be guilty of being an SRP? Yes! Consider this though you may reject this if you are not grounded in the teaching of hamartiology or the doctrine on the dark character of sin. Even though we may be saved, we still possess a sinful nature and have the potential of committing any sin revealed in Scripture. Yes, I did say any sin! This is a very unpopular truth for we like to think of ourselves as better than we are! Compare Jer 17:9; Mk 7:21-22. It is quite obvious as believers that we do not look upon sin as God does because He is holy, and we are sinners though saved by grace, not to mention the relentless desensitization toward sin today. For instance, fornication and adultery are looked upon as no big deal; everybody is doing it, right? And there are couples living out of wedlock attending church and praising Jesus on how He has blessed them! Is it a big deal to God? Yep, compare Heb 13:4; 1 Cor 6:9, 10; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:3-6. Let’s not leave on such a negative note; Paul gives the “oops” and the “ahs,”

“And such were some of you (emphasis mine). But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11; cf. Isa 1:18).

If we are not careful as believers, we can become the very thing that we oppose in thinking and behaving like the Pharisees and Sadducees of old. We tend to forget what God saved us from, “And such were some of you,” making unrealistic demands not only upon other believers but the lost as well. Hell is not one-degree cooler, but truthfully we cannot win over anybody apart from the LORD (Jn 6:37, 44, 65). This is why we are to be compassionate and passionate witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8). How often have we come to a realization of a truth that took years to apprehend and once apprehension had taken place, we expected everyone else to come on board with that understanding immediately! “Wait a minute! It took you twenty years to figure that out! And now you expect everyone else to get it immediately, or do they have a spiritual problem?” One reason for generational gaps is forgetting that we were once young and stupid and look how long it took us to overcome that.

How many times have you overheard this or maybe you were the one saying, “I don’t understand these young people today! Why, in my day….” You know what? In our youthful days, the older generation was saying, “I don’t understand these young people nowadays!” It’s the same as older people talking about the “good ole days,” but back in the good ole days, people older than them were dreaming, “Remember the good ole days?” If we believe in the truth of Rom 8:28, then the best time is right now being in the center of God’s will worshiping and witnessing for his glory! And by the way, the Bible never teaches total abstinence only against abuse. I think it wiser just to stay clear of the stuff, but I pass no judgment on social drinking that does not lead to intoxication, impaired judgment, or immoral or illegal activities.

Do you want to hear an irony? When Beverly and I go out to dinner with people that drink, oftentimes they are concerned that they will offend us or feel uncomfortable thinking we are judging them for having a drink over dinner or drinking a beer watching a championship game on television at their home. Just because we have decided not to partake in alcohol, some people in their thinking have us judging them; when in actuality, it is the farthermost thing from our minds! When I was saved I didn’t drink for “religious” reasons because the church I attended held to a teetotaler theology. As I developed my Christian walk, my decision to not partake in alcoholic substances was based more on practical reasons rather than religious ones.  

Let me answer a typical question by an SRP. “Would you attend a church gathering serving alcohol?” My answer is “No.” It would not, in my opinion, be appropriate for the purpose of the gathering. We all need to personally legislate some sensibility and loosen up for God’s glory and exorcizing the grace killers in our lives with God’s help. This doesn’t mean a lowering of godly standards for we are to give Him the glory in all that we think; we hear, see, taste, smell; feel, speak, and do all according to the teaching of Scripture (1 Cor 10:31).

If we are not doing that then things like, “The liver is evil…. It must be punished,” is going to make us fit to be tied while we are here on this side of eternity. We have to constantly guard against unchecked visceral reactions of self-righteous thinking and behavior. Too many of us suffer from a spiritual rigor mortis that if we smiled our face would crack! It would be more prudent to pick our battles carefully; not everything rises to the level of drawing a line in the sand. Truthfully, SRPs are nothing more than grace killers, but for those who love God’s law “whose hearts and hands are made to square with its precepts and demands” (CH Spurgeon), they have great peace and nothing causes them to stumble (Psa 119:165). It's time to loosen up for God’s glory (see Gal 5:13)! <><