Wednesday, November 2, 2016

                 “Of types of smiles, the insincere smile uses the least energy and the fewest muscles.” It must be true because I found that interesting tidbit of information in the 2013 Uncle John’s Canoramic Bathroom Reader, right on page 388. If you can’t trust good ol’ Uncle John, who can you trust? But you are saying yourself, “Hey buddy, you just did a blog on smiles…”  See my face?  I am smiling. (Please refer to above quotation.)

                Besides, this is about insincerity, not smiling anyway.

                Insincerity is the open door into hypocrisy.  And if there is anything which we Christians get deservedly criticized more for than our insincerity and hypocrisy, I don’t know what it might be.

                Case in point. Recently I drove past two Christian churches whose big church signs read respectively:  “Everyone is welcome” and “The Church for People Just Like You”. Now, both of these churches, bless them, would be known for their very conservative theology and Christian practice. That’s their business and privilege, but I doubt that either of them would ordain a woman pastor or have female deacons, or condone alternative lifestyles, etc., typical of uncomfortable themes within conservative Christianity, including, I must add, many a Baptist church. Again, I say that those positions are their prerogative.

                My point is that neither of the two church signs is as sincere as they think they are in its open-door, welcoming, affirming message.  This is not to say that the people in these churches are unfriendly, uncaring, indifferent, insensitive, inhospitable Christians.  But they will have their strict limits as to whom they will totally welcome, affirm and include. Their definitions of sin might exclude an ordinary individual from participation in the fellowship. They may even try to love the sinner and hate the sin, but I have never really trusted that old bromide. They may scrupulously preach a gospel of Love but it becomes a conditional Love just the same.  Act like us. Believe like us. Behave like us. Obey the rules. Then you are welcome.

                There would be many an ordinary person who would not feel welcome or just like one them in these churches. Probably, all churches act like this to some extent – even the so-called liberal or progressive ones. Nobody has a corner on insincere sanctimony. It uses the least energy and fewest muscles, indeed!

                Jesus said once, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners,” (Mark 2:10).  Jesus had strong points of view about what was wrong with humanity, but he never excluded anyone from the richest and most powerful to the most weak, sick and vulnerable.  He was comfortable in the presence of tax collectors, lepers, Roman centurions and even the Pharisees. He enjoyed the company of women and children.  His disciples were a rough, rag-tag band of blue-collar men but he included women among his followers just as easily. The cure for humankind’s Fall from Grace was the love of God for everyone. This is not to say that Jesus condoned or even tolerated Sin, but rather looked beyond and past the sins of people and generated a Love that was healing, gracious, forgiving, wholesome, and unconditional. He gave away his Love generously, compassionately and open-handedly. Then he waited to see what change he had wrought.

                I actually really like the motto, “A Church For People Just Like You.”  I could be part of a church which really practiced that style of faith.  Although, to paraphrase Groucho Marx, I am not sure I really would want to become a  member of a church who would take me in as a member. But then again, I think that is exactly my point.

Dale