Prohibition

"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat it, you will surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).

Eden must have been a wonderful place. It was there that we lived in the love, provision, and unity of God. Things were as the Creator had intended, and in this present world we find ourselves in, I can find very few places and circumstances that offer me a glimpse of what it might have been like to walk the Garden as Adam and Eve did.

Genesis 2 gives us a very brief view of what this place must have been like, a place where man was truly free. In that place, there was only one prohibition: do not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. From the very beginning, the temptation to "be like God, knowing good and evil" was too seductive to refuse. The moment Adam and Eve acquired what they desired, judgment entered our world. All that they had enjoyed was lost with the arrival of this new and hideous knowledge.

The first prohibition in scripture is against seeking or possessing the knowledge of what is good or evil. It is prohibition to judge. Adam and Eve were created to live in the love and security of God -- and nothing else. They were not to judge themselves, each other, or God. Even the idea of possessing this knowledge caused Eve to begin to question God's motives, and from the moment they began to judge, shame entered the world.

This command against judging is a central prohibition in scripture. Jesus spoke against judgment very directly in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 7. Although Lord, Jesus said of himself that he did not come to judge the world (John 12:47). He must have come with some other motive! Even the Apostle Paul, who so many Christians love to quote in their judgment of others, asked, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside of the church?" (1 Corinthians 5:12). He went so far as to say that he didn't think it was appropriate to even judge himself (1 Corinthians 4:3).

With all the explicit warnings against judgment found in scripture, why do so many professed followers of Christ continually justify the practice of it? Why do we continue to make excuses to justify our judgment of the world around us? Despite what the scriptures clearly state, why do we continue to offer exclusion, condemnation, and play-by-play analysis of all those living within the scope of our judgment?

The answer, I believe, is too painful for most of us to acknowledge.

We want to be like God.

I know when I judge, there is something about it that makes me feel good at that moment. It feels satisfying to stand over others in judgment, and I enjoy that position of self-imposed superiority. My focus on the sin of others gives me momentary reprieve from the awareness of the stench of my own sin and brings me a sense of gratification that I am not "as bad as that man". In my mind, I deliver the verdict that separates them from me, and I feel so justified in the process. And, of course, God is always on my side.

Forgive me, Lord...

Just as this "knowledge" brought death to Adam and Eve, when the church tries to be like God, death comes knocking. How many people do I know who are like walking dead, having been destroyed by the judgment of those claiming to speak for God? Why do so many people equate Christianity with judgment? Why are we known for something that should run opposite to who we are and how we live in this world? We turn the order of the entire world upside down when the creation tries to be the Creator, when the created judge the created. No life comes from it.

Jesus couldn't have said it more plainly...we will be held to the same standards that we judge others. God forbid!

As the Holy Spirit exposes the true motives of our judgment of others, we have the opportunity to repent and experience God's forgiveness, grace, and mercy in a way that we have never known. To be free of judgment and live in God's mercy and love is the closest we will get to Eden in these bodies!

The opposite of judgment is love. If the central prohibition in scripture is judgment, the central commission is love (Matthew 22:38-39). When we insist on our right to judge others, it brings us (and others) to a place that couldn't be further from God's intention. It couldn't be more destructive.

And yet we justify it.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use it, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:37-38).

Attack

Security

"Security is mostly superstition. " (Helen Keller).

I have been writing an article for some while on the competing dreams of what Jesus spoke of in the Kingdom of God verses the American dream. At the top of the list was this idea of security and how much of our lives are lived in the pursuit of it. Safety (or at least the appearance of it) is very important to us. Although we live in a post-9-11 era and America seems much more fearful, I just didn't feel as though I quite had a handle on what I was writing.

Then we got robbed.

I received the phone call yesterday that our home had been invaded and a few things had walked off with our uninvited guests. Of course, it has shaken us. Shock turns to panic which turns to fear which turns to anger. Typical reactions, I'm sure. It's not too difficult, though, to come to grips with the loss of stuff or even the property damage left behind, but a home invasion brings with it a loss of security and feelings of vulnerability.

It's not just stuff that gets stolen.

From time to time, I am reminded that the world is such an insecure place. Perhaps those reality checks can help me to identify with how most of the world really lives most of the time. How many people consistently live with the possibility of the loss of property, loss of security, loss of dignity, or loss of life? Anyone at anytime can take those things away from me, so I suppose it's best not to trust in stuff or even in personal security. Those who trust Christ and live in those parts of the world have a deeper understanding of many of Jesus' teachings then I will ever have! I am learning that my security has to come from some place that no man can touch.

The words of Jesus always seem to run counter to my nature. My desire for economic compensation and justice (or, dare I say it, retribution) compete with what I know he taught on the subject. I suppose it's easy to be nonviolent when you're not the one being aggrieved!

Jesus said in Luke 6:29 that if someone takes from me my cloak, I am not to stop him from taking my tunic as well. The cloak was an outer garment for warmth and protection from the elements while the tunic was an outer garment that covered you up (like a shirt and trousers do for us today). The loss of the cloak would have meant exposure to the elements while the loss of the tunic would have meant exposure and vulnerability of another kind. Giving up your tunic would have left you feeling a bit more exposed in public.

Indeed.

We will struggle for a little while longer with feeling a bit more "exposed" and insecure in our neighborhood. Perhaps it will take even longer to come to grips with how Jesus taught us to love our enemies in context of Luke 6:27-36. One thing I am sure of when I read Jesus...loving our enemies requires us to count the cost, and I am learning that the Way of Christ runs on a very different economy than the American way.

Plank

Above

Making the Grade

"The unexamined life is not worth living." (Socrates).

My high school students are currently completing their big autobiography project, a major part of their grade in the course I teach. Whenever I first introduce the project, I set down the parameters and lay out my expectations and remind them that what they choose to share in their autobiography is their own personal choice. I am always amazed at what these teens choose to share in the confidence of this assignment. Usually, I spend many nights carefully reading the story of their lives as seen through their own eyes while fighting off the tears in mine.

As a teacher, it is my responsibility to help my students have a productive understanding of how the English language works. With red pen in hand, I point out spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and sentence structure nightmares for them to revise for their final copy. Knowing and using the English language well is, of course, for their benefit, so I labor over the text and provide instructions for correction in the margins. At the bottom, I jot a few notes and provide a point total out of 100 for the quality of the content, standards met, and proper use of the English language.

And I feel like a heartless brute for doing it.

It's difficult for me to concentrate on the dotting of I's and crossing of T's and explaining the difference between their, there, and they're in the same sentence that I am reading about a student's nightmare at having been sitting beside her brother when he was shot between the eyes by a rival gang member, leaving her covered in blood. It's hard to focus on the eternal run-on sentence when reading about the lives of each student who is trying to survive their own unique hell.

Then I total up the points and enter the digits into the gradebook.

While I can be conflicted, I know that they must learn. So I take every opportunity to teach them so that they are able to choose a better life for themselves. Yes, that includes learning English well, among other things. It also includes making choices to live their lives differently, and my pity or allowing them take the easy way out probably won't really help.

I feel a bit legalistic, to be honest with you, when grading their autobiography projects and slapping a percentage on the bottom. I care for my students, and I can't help but feel remorse, grief, and anxiety when I read their stories. Their personalities, behaviors, and attitudes begin to make sense as I decipher the codes encrypted in unintelligible handwriting and mind-boggling sentence structure. It's at this point in my class, that the overflow of my heart becomes most apparent to me.

I can't imagine the love the Father has for his children! He knows us well, and it is his love that becomes his motivation for everything he does. God is love, so I believe everything that comes from God (including his instruction) flows from a place of love and is for our benefit. Knowing what he knows about each life, each story, each person is a burden I am glad I do not share with him, but I do ask that my heart would gain just a sliver of his capacity for love. Without his love, I couldn't make the grade.

Up front, I tell my students that their rough draft will be graded for content and proper grammer and spelling and that I will reserve all other comments and commentary for their final copy. I cannot approach this project -- their lives - as merely academic. It demands something more of me. I am proud of the outcome I see in their lives as they examine themselves.

Sustainability

Hate

Love your enemies.

I read an article the other day on a news website about a pastor from the Phoenix area who preached a sermon entitled "Why I Hate Barack Obama". In his message, he said that he prays for President Obama's death and hopes that he would be struck with brain cancer and go to hell.

My stomach is sick.

This man does not represent me. This man does not understand the Kingdom. This man does not speak for Jesus.

If he did understand the message of the Kingdom, he would love those who do not share his political opinion. He would pray for those in authority with God's grace and not his own agenda. He would -- given the opportunity -- wash the feet of the very man he longs to see dead.

Any religion that advocates hate is not of Christ. Any religion that places nationalism or political agenda above Kingdom is not of Christ. Any religion that longs for God's destruction of those they have judged as evil is not of Christ. Any religion that prays for people to go to hell is not of Christ.

"Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7).