Breaking Down Walls
Christian Leadership in a Divided World
In our spiritual journeys, Christians from various denominations have occasionally missed the mark by judging the spiritual authenticity of those outside our immediate faith communities. How does our understanding of the doctrines we embrace influence our behavior toward others?
The Pitfalls of Focusing on Differences
It has become commonplace to magnify the traits that make people different from each other. This often results in one of two outcomes:
Building Walls of Separation: Individuals and groups build up walls of separation to protect ourselves from each other's differences.
Demanding Conformity or Conflict: Individuals and groups arm themselves against each other's differences and demand that the other person or group become more like them, or die.
Focusing on what makes us different from others drives us farther away from those we're called to love.
The Backdrop
This was the backdrop for Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan. The ancestors of the Samaritans had once been, with the Jews, God's chosen people Israel. When Jesus told this story, Samaritans and Jews held each other in contempt.
Historical Context
The Samaritans were an ethnic and religious group that lived in ancient Palestine, and their religion and customs were a blend of Judaism and paganism. They were descendants of the Israelites who remained in the region after the Babylonian exile and the Assyrian conquests. When the Jews returned to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon and wouldn’t allow the Samaritans to join them in rebuilding the temple, the Samaritans established their own religious center on Mount Gerizim, near the city of Shechem.
Tensions
The relationship between the Jews and Samaritans was often tense. The two groups had a long history of conflict and rivalry. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be heretics and refused to recognize their religious practices. The Samaritans regarded themselves as the true keepers of the Torah and rejected the authority of the Jewish priesthood in Jerusalem.
A Lesson in Compassion
The story of the Good Samaritan is the story of a man who is beaten by robbers and left for dead on the side of the road (Luke 10:25-37).
Indifference of the Priest and Levite: As the story goes, a Jewish priest and a Levite (God's chosen people) passed by the injured man without helping him.
Compassion of the Samaritan: However, a Samaritan, despised by the Jews for his ethnic heritage and tainted theology, stopped and showed compassion for the man. He tended to his wounds, took him to an inn, and paid for his care.
True Righteousness Over Right Theology
Too often, it's those who claim to have the right theology that fail to do the righteous thing. This was the situation Jesus found himself in with the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees. They claimed to be the genuine article. But they were the counterfeits. They were right, but not righteous in comparison to God's righteousness.
Blessings for Peacemakers
Jesus promised a special blessing for peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Jesus wasn't offering a compliment to those who quiet noisy children during church, or who get a neighbor to turn down their loud music. The blessing Jesus promised is for those who bring healing to broken relationships by loving their neighbors (even when they're our enemies) as they love themselves.
The Legacy of the Good Samaritan
This is the legacy of the Good Samaritan. He was blessed—a peacemaker. The Good Samaritan didn't have as much of the light of truth as his Jewish neighbors, but his light shined brighter when he lived up to the light he had. The little light he had produced in him a Christlike character that made his world a better place for the people he encountered.
Judging Spiritual Experience
Before we judge someone's spiritual experience, we'd do well to consider that, like Good Sam, they may be living up to the light they have. And before we rush to enlighten them, we'd do well to consider how well we're living by the light we have.
Embracing Christ's Love
A favorite author put it this way, "What is needed is the love of Christ in the heart. When self is merged in Christ, love springs forth spontaneously. The completeness of Christian character is attained when the impulse to help and bless others springs constantly from within—when the sunshine of heaven fills the heart and is revealed in the countenance." Ellen White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 384
The Legacy of Christian Leaders
What legacy do we leave behind as Christian leaders? Are the impulses you're responding to putting you in a defensive and offensive posture toward people who are different from you? How can you become a peacemaker without compromising your convictions?