Left & Right

Liberals. That's what we call them. And the worst of them are called "left-wing" or "leftist." Have you ever considered what this means? A quick Google search will give you all kinds of definitions. But this leftist way of thinking seems to have some common themes.

I don't trust the leftists to tell me what they stand for. I'm not sure they can be honest. (you'll see why later.) The best definitions of left-wing thinking are probably found in more neutral places. Wikipedia, or any of the traditional encyclopedias are probably better places to find out what the leftists believe and how they think.

Left-wing thinking has been around for centuries. It's not an American invention. It's been consistent with other terms - like Marxism, communism, socialism and others. It's been associated with concepts like labor unions, welfare states, etc. And it's been applied to social reform, revolutions.

You see, leftists tend to worry about the rich having too much power or influence. They want to make sure the labor classes are empowered. They tend to fret about feminism, racial equality, and other social ills that they believe are destroying civilized society. Needless to say, leftists aren't very good with capitalism. They seem to believe that capitalism preys on the weak, empowers the rich, and disenfranchises the unfortunate.

I've seen people describe themselves as religious conservatives or religious liberals. The latter group will profess their faith in God and Jesus Christ, but describe themselves as leftist or liberals. It leaves me wondering if they've really thought through their position. Quite frankly, this left-wing thinking hasn't really produced much in the way of free society, human equality or positive social change.

But the liberals and the conservatives, the leftists and the right-wing thinkers, remain diametrically opposed in terms of how we think the world should function. We remain on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to how decisions should be made. Politically, it escalates into nothing short of a feud as our political leaders (in America, at least) talk about "reaching across the aisle."

Today, we're led to believe that something called "bipartisanship"is really possible. Our leaders tell us that the left and the right can get together on the issues that really matter. They insist they can make sound decisions and lead our country forward, with this 'reaching across the aisle" to produce bipartisan solutions that everyone will embrace. Frankly, I am suspicious of such claims.

The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left. (Ecclesiastes 10:2)

King Solomon wrote these words. He's the Old Testament hero who prayed for wisdom and got it. In fact, God said he would be "the wisest man who ever lived." I take that to mean he was wiser than anyone alive today. So whatever King Solomon had to say, I tend to take seriously. After all, his wisdom came from God above! And look at his words. Right = wise. Fool = left.

Don't get me wrong. I'm in favor of everyone being taken care of, treated fairly, etc. But I realize that we can't become an issues-based society either. We can't respond to the individual issues and allow our collective thinking across the issues to become our morality. Our feelings cannot be allowed to become our moral compass or our standard for making decisions. I believe that's what happens to the leftists.

So how should we think? We should ground ourselves in God's truth, and then apply it to the issues that confront us. If we would decide who we are or aren't, what is right and what is wrong, and how decisions are to be made - then issues like abortion, homosexuality, feminism, welfare, and other matters become much more clear to everyone. And it isn't a matter of who is right or who is wrong. Rather it is a matter of who is grounded in truth.

You can probably guess that I'm a member of the religious right or the religious conservative. I don't apologize for that either. Ironically, I didn't decided to be right-wing or rightist. It's not a filter I try to run things through. I just do my level best to understand God's truth and His standards. Then I try very hard to look at issues in the context of that truth and those standards. Frankly, it has never led me to a leftist position on anything.

I'd like to see this notion of left or right die out. I'd like to think that modern-day Christians can get together on God's truth and go forward from there to confront the issues. Sadly, I don't think that's going to happen. Unfortunately, even the Christians bring their biases. Despite the Bible's warning not to do so, they lean on their own understanding. In fact, they insist on their own understanding - and challenge the opposing party to prove them wrong.

Perhaps it is time we start a third political line in this country. In addition to the leftists and the rightists, maybe it's time we start with the "truthists", or the "truth-winged" thinking. It would be a group of people who never come into any issue with an agenda or a predisposition. Rather they would be agnostic about the issues, and just ground themselves in Biblical truth before they consider anything else.

How different do you supposed American politics and culture would be if my new political party were to "get into power?"

Situational Ethics

Have you ever had, as a Christian, one of those “sticky situations? You want to do the right thing. But there appear to be two sides to the dilemma. Things are not always black or white but seem to fall into some kind of grey area.

What’s appropriate just doesn’t seem to be very clear. What’s really going on? How should we, as Christ-followers, respond to that?

First, let’s define the character and nature of a dilemma. A dilemma is a problem where there are at least two choices we can make. It is often a situation where you are not sure what is right or wrong --- or what is more right or more wrong.

When considering what God’s Word says about any particular subject, we sometimes find commandments that can give us clear direction. But in other cases we may need to search deeper into the Scriptures. Where there are no clear commandments, there are still many principles, not often clear without careful study. Occasionally God’s Word may even appear to be completely silent on a certain subjects.

So what are we to do? I think the best answer is that we are not to give up looking for the right answer. God is all-knowing. He has an answer for every single question that life can muster. His Spirit can lead every single decision that humanity might ever have to make. This is what’s true about the situation of any dilemma.

So we need to ask, to seek, to listen and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. We may need to discuss it with other Christians who are more mature than we are … who can help lead us to the answers in Scripture or to pray with us for the Spirit’s leading. God doesn’t leave us empty-handed when it comes to the dilemmas that life throws at us.

Let’s look at some examples. Would it be okay for …

... a Christian Lawyer to enter a “not guilty” plea for a criminal he knows is guilty?
... a Christian flight attendant to serve liquor?
... a Christian purchasing agent to take gifts from suppliers?
... a Christian Doctor to sign an insurance form for a patient he knows is not valid?
... a Christian working at a bar or casino?
... a Christian to go into a bar, tavern or lounge to witness for Christ?
... a Christian to pay taxes, knowing some goes to unethical, unbiblical practices?
... a Christian to voluntarily enlist to serve in a war and fight?
... a Christian giving to a poor person regardless of why they are poor?
... a Christian to be a business partner with a non-Christian?
... a Christian to lie if human life is in danger?
... a Christian to withhold his or her tithe if the church were squandering the money?

Let us consider this subject by asking ourselves some questions with a teachable Spirit and with careful study of Bible scripture. While the Bible doesn’t speak specifically of casinos or gentlemen’s clubs, or drinks on an airline – it does provide us with a wealth of Scriptures that form the context on which these kinds of dilemmas can be evaluated.

1 Cor. 10:23-31 Does this activity edify myself or another believer? Does this activity bring glory to God? Could this cause give Christ a bad name, since we are ambassadors and representatives of Christ, everything we do is often seen by others as a reflection of Christ, bringing reproach on Him, the Church and body of Christ.

1 Cor. 6:12 Though it may be lawful for me, I need to ask myself if this activity is spiritually beneficial or is this activity enslaving to me?

1 Cor. 8:7-13 Does this activity defile my conscience? Could this activity hinder the growth of a fellow believer? Could I cause another brother to stumble, if so I would be better not to be involved in something that could affect a brother. They may have a weaker conscience. It could cause them to believe this is OK and even get themselves involved in something much more worse. For another it could divisions and disunity between brothers that could affect the whole body of Christ.

We often find ourselves in perplexing situations and it seems that being able to discern what's right and what's wrong is very evasive. But the good Lord has provided all of the wisdom we need to develop that kind of discernment. Using His Word as our moral compass, we can find our way through any kind of sticky situation that life can throw at us!