VII | ROOMMATES
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. // 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. // 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
Our goal as those with a Kingdom worldview is not to become anti–Critical Theory. The Church is known enough for what we are against. It’s not enough to state what we’re against. We must also be able to make a stand for what we are for. We have a war to fight, but it’s not us versus them. The Kingdom is not zero-sum. Everyone is supposed to win together. Fighting this war requires the wisdom of God himself. We speak the truth to false arguments and destroy the obstacles that keep people from knowing God. And we do this with the mission to make them citizens of the Kingdom.
Jesus was faced with the same challenge in Matthew 9:35-38:
Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”
The word “compassion” used there is a long Greek word, σπλαγχνίζομαι – splanchnizomai (splank-niz-o-mai). This word means to “suffer alongside” someone else, as I mentioned earlier. This word is frequently used to mark how Jesus feels about people. When Jesus saw people going through difficulty, he got down and suffered alongside them. That’s humility. That’s Kingdom.
We must destroy arguments. We must take all these thoughts captive to obey Christ. But we must have compassion on people. That is how we all can win.
Think about people who really do believe that all the world has been created to victimize them. They’ve been told that they cannot win in life. The whole world is against them. It was from the start, and it always will be. They’re in a minority group, they’re oppressed. All of society has been created to oppress them. There’s really nothing they can do until their group becomes a majority group. Put yourself in such a person’s shoes. This is the weight Critical Theory puts on people. The worldview itself is oppressive.
This oppressive worldview is attractive and engaging for a reason. It is designed to entice. “I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Smart, educated, gifted and talented people will fall for these things. It is easy to fall into that trap. The trap of Critical Theory is particularly sinister. The “lifelong work” of overthrowing oppression and problematizing will lead to more oppression, not less.
What do people who experience deep pain need? What do we need when we feel like the whole world is against us? What do people who have been deluded into believing a solution that only creates more problems need? Compassion.
Imagine this: you’re walking through the desert and are desperately thirsty. All you have been given is a shot glass full of water. You are carrying this glass of water carefully because you can’t waste a drop. You come upon a beautiful oasis with what seems to be an endless stream of fresh cool water. It’s so cold and refreshing in this oasis that the Coca-Cola polar bears are hanging out in there. To access the spring, you’ve got to set down your little cup, but you’re afraid to do so.
Critical Theory is a shot glass of water. The Kingdom is the oasis.
The people who need the Kingdom the most are the same people who are fighting so hard to go in the opposite direction. The Bible teaches us that every person is created in God’s image. Every life, regardless of group membership, has worth, value, meaning and purpose. God wants everyone to win because he created all of us. We don’t need to destroy each other. We need to repent of our own personal wickedness and come to God together so he can help us practice unity, honor, and reconciliation to all people.
Kingdom people are people who know that God wants everyone to win in life. They build atmospheres of unity. Atmospheres of honor. Atmospheres of reconciliation. Kingdom people believe the best in all people – especially when the worst has been displayed. Kingdom people give the gift of grace, regardless of a person’s identity. Kingdom people create a place where people can belong. Kingdom people are faithful friends who are ambassadors of the Kingdom, who speak the truth in love to the people that they love. They are activists who fight to build a better world and love people while doing it.
As long as human beings have existed, we have tried to figure life out. There will always be elephants for us to talk about. The Kingdom will face bluff charges. Kingdom people understand this and embrace the tension of navigating the gray areas and confronting the bluff charge.
One time, the disciples asked Jesus how to talk to God, and he said this.
Pray like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.”
If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. // Matthew 6:9-15
Kingdom people pray that God would bring his Kingdom to earth. They want the will of God, and they are reliant on God. Kingdom people still sin, but Kingdom people also repent for their sins. Not just to God but to those they sin against. Kingdom people don’t hold grudges or look for ways to overthrow their oppressor. Every form of oppression they experience is an opportunity for forgiveness. Jesus gives us the privilege to be like him, to say to the world, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free” (Luke 4:18).
What is the best way forward? We must live like Jesus. We must ask him for help to live exemplary lives that are an example for all those we meet. There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. You exist to be the light in your world. And guess what? You get to decide what your light looks like. The only requirement is to make sure it shines bright.
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” // Matthew 5:13-16