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Too Many Voices
Sacred Rhythms - Part 6
Sunday, February 7, 2021
John 10:1-21, James 3:13-18, Matthew 13:35; 24:4-14, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; 3:18-20
When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers…
… I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
John 10:4-5, 16
I recently came across a meme on Facebook citing Ecclesiastes 10:2 as a justification for conservative political agendas as the only Christian choice. The verse reads:
The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of a fool to the left.Ecclesiastes 10:2
Those who shared it claim that this is the reason conservatives are labeled “right wing”, presumably putting them on the right side of God’s will, while the left wing liberals represent the fools scripture warns us not to follow.
Let me first say that I do not believe this for a second, as I know countless Christians on the political left whose faith legitimately shapes their politics at least as much as those on the right. Many on the right of the spectrum have viewed me as one of those radical, foolish liberals, though I tend to think of myself as being more moderate. More than the pettiness of this argument, my larger concern is the blatant misuse and abuse of God’s word to fit our worldly agendas, even if it is only meant in jest.
Of course if we continue down this line of thinking, we could easily present scripture to the contrary, such as Deuteronomy 28:14 which promises God’s blessings if you “do not turn aside from any of the words that I am commanding you today, either to the right or to the left, following other gods to serve them.” If we wanted to tie this verse into American politics, we could make a pretty good argument that the ideologies of both the left and the right represent other gods while the Kingdom of God stands above them both. Proverbs 4:27 and Joshua 1:7 make similar arguments. If anything, this would make a far more compelling case for what it means to obey God’s will rather than falling in with the various political philosophies and ideologies of our world.
Even more absurd, I once heard an argument that because Jesus sits on the right hand of the father, we must place our allegiance on the right side of government, meaning the republican party. A simple and equally absurd response is to say that if Jesus sits on the Father’s right, then the Father sits at Jesus’s left hand so should we follow the Father or the Son when it comes to placing our allegiance with the right or the left? Clearly God is not divided in this way, but again, it demonstrates the foolishness of starting with our agendas when trying to discern God’s will.
No matter how reasonable or ridiculous the arguments may sound, I come back to my primary concern about the way we so easily manipulate God’s word to fit our agendas. One thing I can say with absolute certainty is that none of the Biblical writers had the two-party American system of democratic government in mind when they wrote about the left or the right.
To follow Jesus will inevitably require us to walk away from long-held political loyalties to reorder our lives around a new constellation of values shaped by Jesus’ teaching, his example, his death and resurrection, and his lordship over all things.
Michael F. Bird, Washington Post, 2019.
Politics presents an easy case study for the ways we try to manipulate God’s will to align with our own agendas, but if we are honest we do this in many areas of life. As Christians, we are always seeking to discern God’s will, and this is a good thing.
Our tendency toward quick one-sided conclusions raises another possibility. What if we are not actually seeking to discern God’s will at all? What if we are really only trying to claim God’s will as a means of justifying our pre-existing opinions or beliefs so that we can live our lives as we choose? Do we honestly pray, “Thy will be done,” or do we cough under our breath as our hearts scream, “MY will be done”?
Discerning God’s will is not about finding scriptures to defend our positions. That is easy. We can find a scripture, and likely several, to defend any position we want. Genuine discernment, however, flows out of our ability to hear and recognize God’s voice in the midst of so many strangers disguised as the shepherd. It is far easier to be led astray than we would like to admit, and there are likely some areas of life where all of us have wandered down the wrong path.
Discernment must begin with confession. It begins by admitting that we might be wrong.
Then, and only then, can we begin the grueling process of tuning out all the other voices so that we can hear our shepherd calling. His voice is soft, but it is distinct, for our shepherd’s voice is the voice of unconditional love.
As you are discerning God’s will for whatever situations you may be facing, the first question must not be “How does God’s word fit into my pre-existing framework or affirm what I already think is right?” The first question must always be, “What does love require of me in this moment?” Or as John Wesley put it, what would it look like in this situation to do ALL the good I can and to do NO HARM. Whatever God’s will may or may not be, it will always be grounded in goodness and love. I can’t think of a better place to start.
Click here for a simple resource on Hearing God’s Voice.
Listen to this week’s sermon here: