Today I was having a lazy Sunday, doing some laundry, watching the latest SNL, and one clip kind of struck a nerve. I may be standing on my soapbox a little in this post so let me enter the disclaimer that I do not claim to be perfect and this post is just as relevant to myself as it is to anyone.
SNL has always been a kind of hit and miss show but I enjoy it. One of my favorite segments of the show is the Weekend Update with Seth Meyers. There's just something cathartic about knowing there are other people in the world equally as appauled with some of the things that make it to the news. The clip that stood out to me today was a short news story on the Westborough Baptist Church protesting at military funerals as viewed by the devil. You can watch it here.
As much as I was mildly amused by the devils perspective, there was also a dark truth behind this clip. This church is notorious for its hate rallies against homosexuals, picketing funerals, and desecrating the American flag. I'm not sure which religion this church is affiliated with but to the radicals out there, I wish more than anything they would come to understand the damage they are causing. I understand the concept of eradicating evil in hopes of creating a perfect world but who are we to even pretend we understand what a perfect world looks like?
I know that this sketch was meant to poke fun at these radical groups but there is something about the dialogue that left me bothered. Towards the end of the video "the devil" starts talking about how someday this group will go to hell and he is going to dress up like God and say "oh yes, good job, great work" and then all of a sudden take off his God costume and say "BAM! You've been damned!" Again, I realize this was made light of in the name of humor but I wonder about how that scenario will really go when people who do things like this church or people who fly planes into buildings or people who strap bombs to themselves or who hold hurtful protest signs at abortion clinics and gay pride parades, when these people stand in front of God thinking they've been serving him while the whole time they actually were turning people away from him. For that matter I wonder about the things in my life that I claim to do in the name of righteousness and what God will say about how I treated his flock. Did I love his people? Did I care for his sheep?
That's the thing with Christians. I don't mean to generalize, but as a whole, Christians tend to complain about their persecution, about how people don't like them. But never once have I heard someone say "Oh.... I hate her... she's just so Christian. I mean she just loves people so much... she's too loving. It's horrible." I have however heard adjectives like "hypocritical", "judgemental", "condemning", "prideful", "arrogant", "naiive." What adjectives are we wearing each day? Christians, we say we want to represent God. God is love. Henceforth, we should represent love, yes? Use I Corinthians 13 as a reference. How much of this description is accurate in our own life? Consistently?
My thoughts are a little scrambled but ultimately the message I'd like to get across is that loving other people is infinitely more successful than proclaiming righteousness in hatred or condemnation. The next time you think about judging someone, put yourself in their shoes, and try loving them instead.
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