I’M POSITIVE ABOUT THAT

There’s a very old joke that goes something like this. Farmer John, who was known for not wasting any words, had to go to church alone one Sunday because the misses didn’t feel very well. Upon arriving home his wife asked him, “What did the preacher speak about today?” His simple reply was, “Sin.” Wanting to dig a bit further she asked, “What did he have to say about sin?” To this he replied, “He’s against it.”

That joke came to mind when I read the article in my “World Magazine” entitled, “Going Negative.” I think the gist of the article can be summed up not only in the title but the words that Christians “have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are for.”

With this, reviewing the book “UnChristian,” six things were listed that the authors use to prove their point. Because I certainly don’t want to be seen as a negative person allow me to take those six points of contention and look at them from the positive side.

• Hypocrisy: I am positively against hypocrisy. When a preacher teaches one thing and practices another, that’s hypocrisy. When a politician says one thing and does something else in the way he or she votes, that hypocrisy. When a man says he doesn’t need God, then calls upon Him when real trouble comes along, that’s hypocrisy. When a man says he doesn’t believe in God and then asks Him to condemn someone to hell, that’s hypocrisy. When someone says they won’t go to church because there are too many hypocrites and yet hangs around all his friends trying to be something they are not, that's hypocrisy. I’m positively against hypocrisy.


• Treating outsiders as conversion targets. We must be careful not to offend, right? However, I’m positive that Christ said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6. I’m very positive that the Bible says that apart from Christ all mankind will spend eternity in Hell. I’m also positive that Christ, just before returning to heaven said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” Matthew 28:19. I’m absolutely positive that everyone should hear that message at least once before they stand before God. After all the Bible says, “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31.
• Hatred of homosexuals. I’m also positive that those who practice such things can repent of their sin (as we all must do from our particular sin) and find salvation and deliverance in Christ. I’m also very positive that you can ‘hate the sin without hating the sinner,’ though some suggest otherwise.
• Seclusion from the real world. I’m positive that Christian organizations and missions do more to help victims around the world from everything from aids to natural disasters than anyone. And that is the real world.
• Over-politicization. I’m very positive about a country where we are allowed to voice our opinions in public and at the voting booth. I’m also positive that the average Christian doesn’t need James Dobson or anyone else to tell them how to vote. That’s not an attack against Dr. Dobson, I’m sure he’s doing as he feels led. It’s also a very positive thing to have his or other organizations inform us as to what political candidates think about certain issues that matter to us.
• Condemnation. I’m very positive that ‘condemnation’ has far more to do with media hype and television characterization than it does on what actually goes on in the average pulpit from week to week.

Here’s what else I’m very positive about. I’m positive that whatever we who are conservatives may say, it will be perceived as a negative. First, there are certain groups that try to make it clear that if you oppose them, it’s proof you hate them. While that is not true, it’s certainly taught. I don’t think much of drunkenness, but I have no real hate for the drunk. If anything, there is pity over a wasted life. Secondly, the media fuels the idea that to oppose certain behaviors is a sign of hate. They make it their goal to find some ‘right-wing-weirdo’ to flash before everyone to prove their point. If we try to warn people of coming disaster, or speak of a Christ they don’t know, it is seen as prideful, judgmental, and negative. So, as I understand it, from the book “Unchristian,” we are told, “to return to the Biblical messages of love and mercy toward sinners.” Excuse me, but I am positive that’s exactly what we are doing. I admittedly have not read the book so I have to be careful about assuming the negative. But, I have to wonder, are we being told to speak only of the positive and never speak of that which is clearly presented as bad (negative) news in the Scriptures?

To sum it up, I’m very positive that if you are a conservative Christian and you hold to what you know as “Biblical principles,” that you’re going to be seen as negative. While we have a very positive message, this is a battle we cannot and will not win. I think that’s always been the case. In speaking of how those who disagreed with John the Baptist and Christ, Christ said, “For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and ‘sinners.’” Luke 7:33,34.

There is no way of winning this perception; of that I’m positive.