Snookered

 

Hey, Cobblestone,

     Arriving on the scene, the first thing Jesus did was call attention to their goofy argument (Mark 9:16). His disciples were tangled up in debate with the scribes (verse 14) instead of healing the demonized boy whose father had brought him for prayer. Who was to blame for this sideways situation? Not the scribes – they were going strictly by the script, on a mission to derail the mission of Jesus. No, it was the disciples who were sideways. They had let themselves be drawn into a strategy of distraction, and were taken completely off-task. At nearly the same point of history in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is quoted as saying, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (11:23). Even if the disciples had won the argument, they would not have gathered anyone. That leaves only one outcome: scattering. You can see why Jesus was so eager to snatch up the situation.

     Without Jesus’ perspective on the image of God in people, anybody can be drawn into a strategy of distraction. But isn’t it especially ironic when we who have the mind of Christ (1Corinthians 2:16) let ourselves be pulled off-mission? “Ironic” is the kindest word I can think of at the moment. Like with the demonized boy in Mark 9, damage is done while the debate rolls endlessly on. “Lord, help us. You’ve given us your mind… help us to give it first say.”

     In a “Hey Church” letter not long ago, I wrote: “Governments weren’t put on this earth to legislate morals; governments were put on this earth to recognize what’s moral and create legislation that makes it possible for the governed to live morally, legally. Governments are famous for doing this poorly; the governed are famous for letting it happen” (Politi-What?, July 20, 2018). Before you start shaking your fist in the direction of Columbus or Indianapolis or Washington, please hear the following: It’s taken way too long, but I’ve finally stopped expecting non-Christians to think and act like disciples of Christ. Last week I wrote about accepting people on an image-of-God basis, unconditionally, knowing that agreement and approval are separate from acceptance. I can walk and work with someone a long way who isn’t a Christian. But when it comes to separating moral issues from political ones – making a distinction between what’s political and what’s been politicized – the mind of Christ is the only right tool for the job.

     The disciples were puzzled. They had been given authority to cast out demons, but couldn’t expel this one. They asked Jesus why. Props for asking – may we duplicate their example when we bump up against puzzlement. Jesus said, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:29). Is this kind the only kind that can only be driven out by prayer? Is there anything else that goes out, anything else that gets made right, only by prayer? The passage doesn’t forbid something else to be made right by prayer, does it? And in Ephesians 6, of all the armor of God (verses 13-18), prayer is given the job of cinching it all together – praying at all times in the Spirit. Some issues can be left in the realm of debate; most everything else lives in the realm of prayer.

     I’m leaving this letter short to give you a homework assignment: However you get your news – and everybody gets it somehow – engage the mind of Christ in you. Make a conscious decision to give the mind of Christ the first say. Think like Jesus. Pray like Jesus. Watch and wait. While you’re waiting, contrast how you might have received the same news without engaging the mind of Christ. I think you’ll realize: moral issues, especially when they involve the image of God in people, can’t be resolved by political, cultural, or social means. It was God who created us in his image, and the Son of God who honored imago Dei time and time again in the Gospels. Don’t get snookered into using ineffective methods.

     Don’t get snookered into scattering.

 

 Grace and Peace (to pray in the Spirit at all times),

 

John