Are you right where you're called to be?

God didn't call you to be right.

It pains me to say it, because being right is something that I value highly. Some of my ugliest moments are when I'm fighting to be the one who is right, and one of the worst feelings for me is realizing when I'm not right. I want to be right, and I want all of you to be right. When I see something that is wrong or hear something that is untrue, I am incurably compelled to correct it.

And yet, I still conclude that God didn't call you to be right (or me, either).

In our drive to be right, we can get into arguments, either friendly or otherwise. The debate can be about anything at all, such as theology, politics, sports, or history. I'm not against debates, even impassioned ones. Perhaps we can eventually let go of many of these arguments before we enter ugly mode, but theology is one that we rarely let go of.

Theology deals with universal truth, the nature of God, and the eternal fate of people. These are the most important issues we can imagine, and we certainly don't want to be at all casual about them. Untruth can lead someone astray about God and their eternal life. There's a lot a stake!

But you were not called to be right, not even about theology. Does that sound wrong? God wants us to know truth and cling to it, and He wants the church to be the "pillar and support of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). Yet, I challenge you to find the command that says, "Above all, be right."

God did call you, on more than one occasion, to bring people more under the influence of Christ. Not you, not your argument, not the church, not a pastor, but Christ.

If you're still balking at what I said about being right, compare the two: Would Christ prefer that you were seen by others to be right or that because of you, someone becomes more under His influence? Is it better for people to know you are right and be no closer to Christ or for them to think you're wrong but end up more open to Him? It's no contest. Being right is not the your greatest purpose. Even Paul said he'd rather be accursed than to see one of his countrymen perish without Christ (Romans 9:3).

God wants you to be right, of course, but it's not your calling. It's not the thing we cling to and defend. He never calls us to be that self-focused. Your call has to do with how others are influenced by Christ.

Therefore, we need to give up our demandingness to be right, our persistance to go to the wall when we believe someone else is wrong.  What we do need to go to the wall for is to see others more influenced by Jesus. Our hearts should beat for one another and for those far outside the influence of Christ, so that they may take one step closer to being swayed by Christ in their daily lives.

I think I'm right about this. But I don't care if you think so, especially if the result is you more moved by Him daily.

"Doing" Justice

We are making the grave mistake of oversimplifying when we say that the Old Testament is about a bunch of rules (often with the equally oversimplifying comment that the New Testament introduces grace). Reading carefully, we see plenty of instances where empty, faithless, ritualistic fidelity to the Rules is strongly critiqued. One such instance is Micah 6:8. After lambasting the people for empty, but "faithful" (i.e., going through the motions accurately) ritual, the prophet says:

He has told you, O man, what is good,

and what the Lord really wants from you: 

He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful,

and to live obediently before  your God.

Let's focus on the word "justice," even though all parts of this verse are rich. What does it mean to promote (or "do") justice?

We often think of "justice" in terms of the law of the land. Someone commits a crime, so what is justice? Prison. A homeowner has been bilked by the utility company, so what is justice? Restitution and a fine for the company. A youth vandalizes a public building, and what is justice? Repair the damage and community service. We think of "justice" in terms of law and order or having the rulebreakers pay up. In a passage that faults empty rulekeeping, certainly "justice" can't mean only this.

There is also a common view of "justice" that basically means that it's unfair that anyone has less. "Justice" in this case is the cause of the poor and oppressed. The bad guys are the "system" and there is no justice as long as there's poverty or underresourcing. This, too, is partly correct to the context. Where there is oppression, there is no justice.

However, it would be insufficient to say that "justice" is just one of these. And it's not even accurate to say that "justice" is the both of these together.

The word "justice" in this passage means "to make right." It is related to the word "righteousness." It is not a legal term and it is not a social term. It is not restricted to punishment or poverty. The word means to set wrong things right. This of course can include law and order as well as fighting forms of oppression. On the other hand, just punishing lawbreakers or extracting people out of poverty does not constitute "doing justice." It includes any situation where things aren't "right."

Micah tells the people that empty religion is displeasing to the Lord. If you perform all the rituals but are not "making things right" in your society, you are not offering the Lord anything He really wants.

What does it mean to "make things right" with lawbreakers and rulebreakers? Only punishment? What does it mean to "make things right" with the poor, when Jesus says we will always have the poor with us? What does it mean to "make things right" when we see any form of oppression? What does it mean to "make things right" when someone needs eternal hope but doesn't know where to find it?

My habits are so habitual

We've been studying and teaching about discipleship and a missional mindset over these last several weeks, with the goal of getting our minds right on these ideas before even attempting to do anything specific about it. It is our expectation that right actions will come from right thinking, and right habits will come from right actions.

This great theory, however, doesn't prevent me from my wrong habits that come from wrong actions that come from wrong thinking.

While moving Lynne's folks this week, my brother-in-law (Steve) and I did a McDonald's run for breakfast, since the kitchen had already been completely packed. (Although I consider fast food a bad habit in its own right, that's not where my story is going.) I had a very simple order - one eggwhite muffin combo, one #1 combo, and three #2 combos, all with coffee. To her credit, the gal working the counter was extremely creative in finding ways to fulfill the order by all methods except the correct one.

I confirmed three separate times that they were all combos with coffee. And yet, I had to stop her from filling sodas and to pour coffee instead, then from 3 coffees to 5, then from 3 hash browns to 5. The floor manager noted she had rung up the order incorrectly, which she shrugged off wordlessly. After all of that, I still never got my #1 combo. If I had wanted two eggwhite combos, I'm quite sure I would have said something other than "one eggwhite combo and one #1 combo." Never did she acknowledge an error, apologize, smile, or even try to change her original, determined plan.

Here's where my wrong thinking led to my habitually wrong action: My concern for this person, who God loves and who bears His image, was fleeting at best. In my habit, she existed only to feed me quickly, pleasantly, and without error. When she failed to exist in that manner, my main concern was getting the greasy, high-caloric, high-fat, oversalted breakfast (and coffee!!) that I was on a "mission" to get.

But my real mission is supposed to be to cultivate complete followers of Jesus (Matt 28:16-20). My real mission never really came to mind because of my habits, which came from my actions, which came from my thinking.

I want a new set of habits so that my first thought for people I encounter is to wonder how I can cultivate, even a little. How can I "loosen the lid"? By habit, I'm still more of a consumer than a cultivator. But ... my thinking is beginning to change (aided by a little indigestion, which reminded me of right priorities - bleh).