Thou Shall Not

When I'm bored, I often find myself scrolling through social media. I follow several organizations whose work I respect as well as many old friends that I've otherwise lost touch with over the years, so it can be a worthwhile passing of time. However, when I am really bored I am frequently drawn into click bait articles.

You know the kind - something with an enticing title that then leads to a not terribly well written article on some worthless topic such as: "10 Things Women Wished Men Understood" or "Celebrity Kids Who Look Just Like Their Famous Parents" or "The Stupidest Ways Criminals Have Been Caught". 

Today I got pulled into an article with a title something like, "15 Things the Bible Doesn't Say are Sin, so You Can Stop Feeling Guilty About". I was curious.

The list made me laugh. A lot.

Examples of things the list included: eating junk food, smoking cigarettes, playing video games, watching football on Sundays, and even, scrolling through social media.

It made me laugh because these are things that primarily didn't even exist back in Bible times. They had no concept of fast food restaurants or technology or social media ever existing. So how is the Bible supposed to speak about these things?

As a sidenote: There are a lot of things the Bible doesn't speak about. The world has changed considerably in 2000 years. While the Bible is the Word of God, it is also a book written within a certain time and culture. If we read it through our twenty-first century Western eyes, we will likely misinterpret the message.

The humor of the article made me reflect on how obsessed we are as a Christian culture with what the Bible says not to do. With the "thou shall not"s. If only we were equally as obsessed with what the Bible says to do...

I remember learning in high school youth group that the Bible was our "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth". Ultimately, though, this is misleading. The Bible does tell us about how God wants us to live, but it isn't meant to be read like an instructional manual. It's a record of God's interaction with mankind. It's a history of God's people. It is meant to teach us about the nature of God and who we are and the type of relationship He wants to have with us. 

Christian author Max Lucado wrote, “The purpose of the Bible is simply to proclaim God's plan to save His children. It asserts that man is lost and needs to be saved. And it communicates the message that Jesus is the God in the flesh sent to save His children.”

That's different than merely a long list of thou shall nots, isn't it?

The Bible ultimately calls us into relationship with God. Calls us to share His love and mercy. Calls us to bring His Kingdom on Earth.

Yes, there are warnings about sin, and how we should be set apart and different from the world around us.

AND, there is an overall consistent message calling us to live radically. To love absolutely. To seek justice. To take care of the vulnerable. To counsel the broken-hearted. To bring healing to a broken world.

Are we as concerned with the to-do's of Scripture as we are with the not-to-do's?

Do we strive after the fruit of the Spirit and knowing God and meditating on the Word? Do we purposefully pursue loving our neighbor and praying for our enemies and caring for the orphan and the widow? Do we share the joy that we have by going out into all the world - or at least to our friends and neighbors - and telling them about Jesus?

Or are we more concerned with judging others for how they've failed to live up to a particular Bible thou shall not? Or perhaps, we're using all our time conjuring up political power to force people to live by those standards, even though we ourselves have failed them?

What would the Church look like if we were to focus more on the to-do's? What if we actually took Jesus seriously and followed His words to love one another? What if we actually made ourselves available to do the good work God wants to do through us? 

Think about the message this would convey to the world.

I have often cited the famous quote about how Christians are known more for what we are against than what we are for. We are known for being judgmental and close-minded and bigoted and hateful. We are known for our long list of thou-shall-nots, rather than for our love.

Ephesians 5:1 says to "Be imitators of God". 

Unbelievers look at us and judge God based on our words and deeds. We bear His name. They will judge Jesus and Christianity and faith based on how we live and love... or on how we hate.

It is no wonder the Church is shrinking in the U.S. It is no wonder more and more people are rejecting Jesus.

Because we have not been good imitators. We have not been like Him.

Jesus told people to "go and sin no more" but He met their needs first. He showed love and compassion and forgiveness first. When people encounter love, real love, it changes them. 

Thomas Merton said, “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy."

Love.

Love like Jesus.

Let's focus more on the to-dos, and leave the thou shall nots to Him.