Reading a random theological article online, as I often do, I discovered a new direction to place the blame for the mess our world is in. Who is responsible for division and disruption in our society?
God.
It turns out, according to the article, that confusion and discord are things God sows in societies that aren’t doing his will. Once the people repent and behave, everything will work, and we’ll all get along. In the meantime, preachers needed to seize this opportunity to preach the fearsome message of judgment to come. With descriptions of God’s wrath and human failure filling every paragraph, the writer urged a return to obedient faith before it was too late. This vicious message, sent by a God with no patience or empathy for his worthless creation, was the Gospel—Good News.
What struck me, aside from the lack of logic to this divine persuasive technique–how are we supposed to know what to do if God is busy confusing us?–was the writer’s sense of urgency. Repent or God will destroy you! Soon! You don’t have to go far to find this message. Attend nearly any public event, from Comicon to the Escondido Street Fair, and you will find the signs and the preachers. You are going to hell because you leave God no choice. He would love you–if you would just become lovable and good. Repent!
What about us?
What I want to know is this: Where is our urgency? What makes the message of fear and judgment so urgent, but the message of love is not? Jesus seems to have believed that his message was urgent. But, contrary to this wrathful Gospel, Jesus wasn’t urgently scaring his audiences with hellfire. While he preached repentance, it was a return to compassion and community he demonstrated, not a return to rigid obedience. Jesus is available. He heals, no matter what the day of the week, spends time with the people who need him, responding no matter how inconvenient it might be. He urgently preaches and demonstrates the Kingdom of God.
Why does fear inspire, but love does not?
What about us? Why is that fear inspires, but love does not? Do we really need a crisis or threat in order to change? Jesus seems to have believed that his invitation to new life was enough. He invited people to leave the ways that weren’t working—ways of greed and judgment, ways of sin—in order to live in a way that would work. We are surrounded by lives that aren’t working. Greed is destroying our planet, Violence seems to be the go-to answer for most problems. Loneliness, injustice, poverty—don’t we have something to say or do? Would our problems be what they are if we had been urgent about the message of love and human dignity? Is it too late to make a difference?
To go back to the scary article, the writer’s frustration is that these scare tactics aren’t working anymore. Rather than imagining surrender to this psychopathic God as Good News, people are walking away from faith entirely. This development seems to be a healthy one–at least we’re not destroying God’s good name with scary stories–but isn’t there more to say?
Where are our signs about love? What are we doing to share what we know about what really matters? Are we showing up? Offering an example of alternative priorities? Speaking up? Bringing our children? It’s going to take effort, it’s going to be inconvenient and uncomfortable, but we have a message that needs to get out. What are we doing about the Gospel?