July 1, 1993 - 12:00pm - M. Jerry Davis

All of us anxiously desire a bright future for our church, but first, let’s talk about Jesus. Let’s talk about Jesus before we talk about plans, and programs, and projects, and positions.

Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commandments!” But when a young man came to Jesus saying he had kept the law from his youth, Jesus said, “You lack one thing!” and to people who scrupulously kept the law, Jesus said, “You have heard it said, but I say unto you.” And when finally asked directly, Jesus said, “Love the Lord with all your heart and treat your neighbor like you would want to be treated.”

We begin the spiritual journey by bringing our lives into harmony with God’s explicit commands, in order to open our minds and hearts to the implicit demands of love. Moral maturity brings the spirit of the law to situations not specified by the law.

Let me illustrate. A story is told about the two giants of early 20th century psychology, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Freud was established, and Jung was a promising newcomer. When they met, they would analyze each other’s dreams. Freud shared a dream, and Jung asked for the associations to Freud’s current life. Freud said, “I can’t tell you!” Jung asked, “Why?” “It would be hard on my authority!” Freud replied. Jung told him, “I can’t work with someone who is more concerned about authority than he is about the truth.”

Our concern is not to put truth over, or against, authority. Rather, as we hear plans and proposals, let us listen for the “authority of truth” and “the ring of right.” The power of God’s people, the power of a church, the power of our church, is not in our buildings. It is not in our resources. It is not in our institutions. It is not in anything that can be named or numbered! “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord. The power of the church is God’s Spirit, and this is the moral authority with which it should speak and act on issues that matter. When good people hear the ring of right, and the authority of truth, they will follow.

We are asked to make many decisions. We hear many arguments. Some decisions are routine. Some are common sense. Some are good business. But some have moral and ethical overtones, dimensions, and consequences. These moral and ethical questions should never be decided by asking: What have we done before? What’s the rest of the church doing? Who’s for it? Who’s against it? Rather, keep these questions in your mind: Is it right? Is it fair? Is it just?

What do I mean by the “ring of right” and the “authority of truth”? Remember some of the long steps of human progress in American history: The British gained dominance over the French in the New World in 1763. They then turned their attention to the colonists; they increased taxes, imposed duties on imports, and quartered troops in private homes. The colonists dumped tea in Boston Harbor, and the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. What if the representatives had said, “The world is not ready for this; unity is more important than justice”?

In 1865, the United States was torn by a variety of slavery-related issues, economic, financial, philosophical, and political, and was bleeding from the last throes of the Civil War. President Lincoln articulated the prevailing, though not always dominant, view that it was simply not right for one person to toil endlessly so that another could live in leisure and luxury. What if, when Lincoln proposed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, Congress had said, “The nation is not ready for this; unity is more important than justice”?

When Lyndon Johnson was elected to the presidency in 1964, he stated, “We have the opportunity to move not only toward the Rich Society, but upward to the Great Society.” Congress enacted legislation to fight poverty, improve education, and care for the aged. Johnson dreamed of ending discrimination in housing, education, and transportation. What if Congress had said, “The country is not ready for this; unity is more important than justice”?

A matter not settled justly is not settled. Whatever our church votes today, because it’s expedient, because it’s traditional, because it’s what others are doing, will come before us again and again until it’s made right. Whatever we can agree to do now, because most of us feel it has the ring of right and the authority of truth, will stand, and we can move on to new issues!

Amos said, “Let justice roll down like a river.” And to paraphrase Proverbs, “Right doing exalts a church.” Let us be more concerned about injustice than disorder, for the church more concerned about disorder than injustice will have more of both! Real unity is not the absence of tension, but the presence of justice. May we be open to truth as God gives us the ability to see it, and may we be willing to be counted for it!