Merry Christmas

Many of you know that I walked away from the church a long time ago and that sometimes I poke fun at the hypocrisy that can be found in our Christian churches. In this post I will do nothing of the sort. Today, as much of the world is celebrating the birth of Jesus, I want to share how I’ve been touched in the last weeks by people who make a point of striving to be Christ-like in their actions; people who don’t preach the Bible’s New Testament but actually try to live it.

While having a problem at home last week, I talked with Little Bit’s friend’s stepmother, Marie. Marie knows that I don’t claim affinity to any god but she was raised Catholic and has a very strong relationship with her god. Throughout our conversation she credited God for blessing her with a promotion at work, helping her family as her husband worked to start and run a now successful business, and helping her through the recent death of her sister’s husband. Since our call was about parenting, she talked about how God helps her try to be the very best mother to her young son, Omari. She said, “First and most important, I am Omari’s mother,” and then went on to describe ways that God works through her to raise a son that genuinely cares for people. She knows that some of that God talk makes me uncomfortable and joked that God isn’t for people afraid of going to Hell but people who’ve been there. The call lasted for an hour or so and when we ended it, I felt a strange sense of peace. The problem wasn’t solved and I was no Christian, but there was a comfort and a feeling that no matter how this problem shakes out, it would be ok.

It was sort of interesting that we’d have that talk that day because a libertarian friend (and Dallas County LP chairman) had sent an email that included an essay written by Tim and Linda Rawles. The essay asked, “Can a Christian be a libertarian?”

How, then, do we live? What guides our conduct? The apostle Paul provides the perfect answer in 1 Corinthians 10:23 and 31. In verse 23 he writes that all things are lawful for you. That means that nothing is unlawful, that there are no laws. Thus, there are no rules, regulations, restrictions, or prohibitions. But, he continues in verse 31, “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Each of us needs to have the power to decide for ourselves, for without that power of decision we can not make the decision that glorifies God. Without freedom, I can not choose to believe in God and I can not make the decision or choice that will glorify God. If I feed the hungry by paying my taxes out of fear of going to jail if I don’t, there is no glory for God. There is just fear and force. If I don’t commit adultery because I am afraid of going to jail rather than because God has asked me not to, there is no glory for or love of God. There is just fear and force.

When government reduces my freedoms to choose, government diminishes the opportunities I have to glorify God by voluntarily and freely choosing the option most pleasing to God. I must be free to not hire, not serve, not sell to and, even, hate a black man, a disabled person and/or a Christian. I must be free to kill myself, ingest drugs, eat red meat, and drink myself into a drunken stupor. I must be free to fornicate my brains out with as many creatures as are willing. I must be free to keep and/or spend my property, including my money, as I see fit. I must have all these freedoms so that I can decide, so that I can choose not to do these things, so that by choosing not to do these things I can honour and glorify God. Government destroys freedom of choice, and in the process, government destroys my opportunity to please God.

I got to thinking about that essay and compared it to the lessons of the churches I attended growing up. I pulled out my Bible (yes, I have one) and went to find a particular lesson of Jesus’s that’s stuck with me my whole life. From The Sermon on The Mount:

Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

And from Luke:

Luke 6:31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

There are many worthy lessons in the Gospels, including “Turn the other cheek.” (Matthew 5:39) and “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” ( (Matthew 7:1) but this is the only one that I go back to again and again. It’s a recurring theme in all religions and is commonly known as the Golden Rule.

And so today, as many of my friends are celebrating the birth of Jesus, I am as well. You won’t find me anywhere near a church or saying prayers. I will be spending time with my family and friends either by telephone or in person. I want to make every effort, in word and deed, to show them that they are loved every bit as much as they are. I want to tell you all here that whether you view Jesus as God on Earth, the only path to God, a prophet or just a man, it’s hard to deny that the words attributed him are anything other than a commandment of peace and love.

I want to thank the Maries, Tims and Lindas of the world for living by this commandment; people like you make me think about how beautiful a Christ-like world could be. And I want to wish everyone, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, agnostics, and fellow atheists included, a very Merry Christmas.

Update: It’s amazing how much you learn about people on a day such as this. Two Jewish friends took time to send personal messages and one friend known only in blogworld did as well.

Paulie, you rock! You are a blast to hang with and I’m sorry we could never time your Dallas visits better. I sometimes think you believe in me more than I do.

Sue Doe-Nim, you are always funny and your gumption makes my normally bold ass feel like a wallflower; who else besides you would take on Pampered Chef on a safety issue without contacting the government? You flip-flop between R and L, but you are a free market woman all the way. You may consider running for LP county chair over in your neck of the woods…Seriously, you have a gift that could inspire many women to forget about waiting for help from “deh prahpah athoritays” in favor of taking matters into their own chapped hands.

SG, you are a truly free spirit with a damned the torpedo attitude. Your heartaches sometimes make my heart ache, but you buck convention when it seems right to you and your reasoning is almost always selfless and usually right. I’ve many sisters (5 of ‘em to be exact) but you’re welcome into the fold. I think we may end up being the closest and, believe me, my sisters and I are close. Wanna ski Utah in January? Your reasoned impetuousness (the oxymoron is intended- dictionary, thesaurus, or grammar primer not required) might save me a broken leg without risking the fun.

~ by Miche on December 25, 2007.