Cub Scout Pack 3740

Accountable to Whom? (Bill's editorial from the Pointer on 10/01/08)

An incident occurred in about thirty churches around the nation yesterday morning. I don’t know if very many people here in Kansas City heard about it, but I thought it was fascinating. In these thirty churches yesterday the minister made bold political endorsements from the pulpit to their congregations. If you’ve ever studied this, then you know that jeopardizes the churches "tax free" status. The ministers did it for two reasons. First, they believed their accountability was to a higher power that the United States government. They felt that what they had to say was of the utmost spiritual importance and they could not be silent. Second, they believed that what they did was protected under the "free speech" clause. I don’t know how this will conclude. I do think it is fascinating that the IRS may get involved when the churches are evangelical or conservative. The endorsement of candidates has gone on in the African-American churches for a long time. There is a bit of hypocrisy here, I think. What really struck me, though, was their first point. How do we balance our responsibility to God with the laws of our Government? Do we accept the premise that many suggest, that we keep our religious beliefs out of the public square?

As I thought about this over the weekend, I was drawn to what happened to Peter and John as recorded in Acts 4. They were imprisoned for preaching Jesus Christ. They were called in and commanded not to teach or preach at all in the name of Jesus. Their reply, however, struck me. They said, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather that God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20) Their response indicated that they recognized a higher authority than the governing officials. Furthermore, they said they cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard (emphasis mine). They were compelled to speak and couldn’t stop doing it, even if they tried. As I thought about their response, I thought about you and me. Are we compelled to speak out on behalf of the Lord? Are we driven to live for him above anything else? Would we have the courageous conviction to say, "It doesn’t matter what you do to me, I cannot help but speak out or live for the Lord? These are tough questions, admittedly. How does this play out in real life? I thought of a couple of "real life" suggestions.

First, let us begin to see the world through the prism of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, let us discuss things and evaluate issues from a Christian world view. I am convinced that almost every issue that affects us as human beings can be analyzed through the lens of a Christian world view. A Christian world view is one that acknowledges the presence of God. It accepts as true "absolute right and wrong." It understands that here is an objective morality code. If our lifestyle and discussions are from this world view, it will allow us an opportunity to stand up for Christ and biblical principles.

Second, let us not give in to the temptation of the world around us and evaluate things based upon what they do for me or how they affect me. This is a "self-centered" view point and does not lead to making choices beyond our own self-interest. Consider these as we attempt to make a difference for Christ in the world around us.