FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion
— Editorial —
Pharisees
and fake lives
It struck me a long time ago that
there’s a huge difference between be-
ing a Bible-thumper and a Christian.
The former triggers an instinct in me
that pushes me away from church. The
latter draws me closer. What the dif-
ference between the two was exactly, I
couldn’t quite put my finger on. What
I knew for certain was that when a
Christian (or a member of any other
religion for that matter) is loudly,
socially focused on how devoted they
are to that religion, how dedicated to
the laws of it they are—that loudness
rings false inside me much of the time.
Where I have always found the most
authenticity has been in folks who are
simply living their lives the best they
can without hitting you over the head
with their beliefs. But when you stop
to really talk with them, what you find
inside is sometimes powerful stuff.
Transforming, even.
I’ve heard it said that when a theme
keeps popping out at you again and
again, there’s a lesson trying to be
learned. Let me tell you, this year has
been a doozy for seeking answers, and
it wasn’t until last weekend when it
finally dawned on me how a pastor of
a church, or simply those belonging
to that church, could keep repeating a
line of scripture—scripture that was
technically right—and yet it should
still feel so wrong somehow. Talk
about confusing!
In this past year, I have seen two
separate pastors in two separate
churches declare someone precious to
me unsaved, unchristian, “crushed by
the hand of God,” and other lovelies,
simply because he had gone to them
while struggling—and revealed that
his life, which had been presented
to the outside world as flawless for
decades—was indeed very far from
perfect. Maintaining that façade was
keeping him in a joyless, unhealthy
life he could no longer maintain, and,
being flawed as we all are, he had
started on a path out of that life in a
way far less than ideal.
Yes, he had sinned, which all of us
do pretty much every hour of every
day to one degree or another, and
because he hadn’t followed the “law”
perfectly was made to feel like the
lowest of the low. One of these church
leaders took it upon himself to not
even declare this pastoral judgment to
the man’s face, but spread it like gos-
sip to a member of his family instead.
Conform to the law at any cost, or
be condemned, was the over-arching
message. “Conform to my inter-
pretations, or you are not Christian
enough,” was the subtext…
With that came a feeling of superior-
ity and arrogance, and it crossed my
mind that those descriptions probably
went hand-in-hand with evil infiltrat-
ing any church. Heck—didn’t they go
hand-in-hand with Satan’s fall?
And then, probably not by chance,
I stumbled across someone’s random
blog—and I got it. I had been running
headfirst into spiritual leaders and
congregations rife with Pharisaical
spirit. This spirit, I think, is why so
many non-Christians view churches
as unyielding, hypocritical and out-
of-touch. So I started breaking down
what that spirit looks like—what it re-
ally looks like up close and in person.
First, there is a focus on appearance.
Jesus likened it to a nice shiny white
tomb, looking perfect on the outside,
but filled with death and decay on the
inside. How does a man’s life in any
way honor God if this comparison
describes it?
There is also such a standard of
incredibly high expectations through
actions that adhere to scripture that
comes with the Pharisaical spirit,
that no man could possibly live up to
it—and sometimes the men who truly
desire to be “good” destroy them-
selves trying. Others throw their hands
up and walk away from the church as
a result. Jesus could live up to the high
standard of God. But if we ourselves
could, Jesus wouldn’t have been nec-
essary in the first place.
One Midwest pastor named Frank
Powell said, “Modern-day Pharisees
believe in their works. That’s why
they love James 2:14-26. But they
skirt around passages about grace.
Oh, yeah. They believe Jesus died on
the cross for their sins. But they turn
around and mock the cross by trying
to earn their salvation.”
We try our best. We do the best we
can with what we know at the time.
But Pharisees don’t work on the
heart. They don’t consider motives.
They don’t look at the voice of God
whispering inside a believer in the
form of instincts or gut-reactions.
Instead, they equate that whisper with
fleeting emotions or whims, and as
in the case I mentioned above, actu-
ally advise Christians to ignore it and
simply conform to the law as they see
it. If an issue is kept very black-and-
white scripturally, then there are no
personal, in-between areas to compli-
cate matters. Isn’t a relationship with
Jesus supposed to be individual and
personal?
Jesus was a rebel. He questioned
the existing religious system of the
day—even breaking Sabbath in
order to heal a man in the temple. He
preached compassion above legalism.
That healing in the temple makes me
look at individual situations and use
common sense in them. Wasn’t Jesus
saying that more evil in that specific
circumstance was being perpetuated
by allowing a man to suffer than by
breaking a religious law?
He also tells us to “beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees.” I don’t know,
but maybe that’s similar to being told
we’ll know the kind of tree by its fruit.
Is the spiritual advice you’re receiving
creating fear and doubt and confu-
sion and sickness? Does it focus on
condemnation instead of compassion?
Does it allow for grace and clean
slates?
Powell also says, “Pharisees are
exclusive. They pick and choose who
enters the group. But Jesus never
valued exclusivity. Just look at his
chosen 12. A tax collector (Matthew).
A doctor (Luke). Fishermen (Peter and
Andrew). A Zealot (Simon). That’s a
conglomerate of guys from many dif-
ferent backgrounds. So, look around at
your group? Is it essentially a collec-
tion of men and women cut from the
same mold?”
We are not cookie-cutter people.
When we’re told if we seek, we shall
find, I assume that seeking means
looking at things from different points
of view and asking a ton of questions.
It means messing up and getting back
on track, sometimes in ways that don’t
“look” perfect from the outside.
Blessedly, the grace of God allows
people to stumble; it allows trips into
darkness and struggles back out of it. I
think that’s all part of spiritual devel-
opment. The Pharisaical church leader,
however, will harp on how bad the
darkness is instead of lighting a candle
and loving the Christian who is find-
ing a new path on the way out of it.
—Kerry McQuisten, Editor
— Special Column —
So I was
thinking ...
Holiday
madness
By Jimmy Ingram
Special to The Baker County Press
The holidays are here again. Family,
friends, snow (hopefully), decorative
lights, Santa Claus, holiday cheer. It
really is the most wonderful time of
the year. It’s also a time of the year
when we see a few things that leave us
speechless.
Black Friday: I’m old enough to
remember when Black Friday wasn’t
really a thing. Sure, shopping the day
after Thanksgiving has been around
a while, but there was a time when it
wasn’t yet considered a contact sport.
Somewhere along the line retailers
and shoppers decided that shopping at
midnight while still in a turkey-induced
catatonic state seemed like a great idea.
By the thousands, people stampede re-
lentlessly to save big money shopping
for gifts their loved ones already have.
Consumer civility appears optional as
credit cards and patience are worn thin.
Advertising phrases like “doorbusters”
create a sense of urgency, sounding
less like the spirit of holiday giving
and more like a physical challenge.
The irony of Black Friday is that it has
managed to transform the kind act of
giving to others into a form of consum-
er gluttony. So let’s recap: Giving to
others: Good. Running over people at
1 a.m. in a Wal-Mart with the intensity
of an NFL linebacker to save $50 on a
TV: Bad.
TV Ads: You’ve all seen them—the
ads suggesting gifts so expensive it’s
almost comedic.
(Wife exits house to find her gift: a
brand new Mercedes, complete with a
decorative holiday ribbon. She’s over-
joyed, hugging her oh-so-thoughtful
husband.)
Now I’m sure in more affluent
neighborhoods this may actually hap-
pen but I like to imagine the scenario
where the average man/woman decides
an $80,000 car is a great gift idea. I’m
guessing the exchange would go like
this:
Man: “Honey, your present is out-
side.”
Woman: “Really?”
Man: “Surprise!”
Woman: “Umm, wow. How much
did that cost?”
Man: “Don’t worry about it.”
Woman: “Did we win the lottery?”
Man: “Uhhh ... no.”
Woman: “You realize that car repre-
sents two years of college for our kids,
right?”
Man: “Don’t like the color?”
Submitted Photo
Jimmy Ingram is a local farmer and
father of two who enjoys people
watching within our wonderful
community and beyond.
Woman: “You’re missing the point,
honey.”
Man: “Okay, okay. But what are we
going to do with that giant bow? You
have no idea how long it took me to
find that.”
So please, Mercedes, quit making
several million people look at their
spouse and say, “Who does that?”
every time one of your holiday com-
mercials comes on. You’ve set the bar
way too high.
Holiday weight gain: Turkey, ham,
stuffing, cookies, pie. Any person
who can make it through the holidays
without being forced to discover new
territory at the end of their belt should
get a round of applause. In fact, if it
were socially acceptable I’m sure most
people would gladly wear nothing
but pants with an elastic waist from
Thanksgiving day until New Years. It’s
sobering to realize the good intentions
of your frigid four-mile late December
walk burned just enough calories to
cover roughly 10% of the of the meal
you plan on eating. I know, I know, try
not to think about it, right? Until you
step on the scales five times in thirty
seconds, insisting to yourself that num-
ber can’t be real.
January: Most of us have nothing
personal against the month of Janu-
ary. But let’s face it, it can be a chal-
lenging month. The pressure of New
Years resolutions, credit card bills from
Christmas, cold days, and the realiza-
tion that spring is still months away can
be tough. Here’s an analogy: Consider
the month of December as a great night
out: Friends, lots of wine, laughter.
Now imagine the month of January as
the unpleasant hangover the next morn-
ing. Of course the good news is that
January is a new beginning. A good
time to reflect on new ways to improve
your life in the coming year. That is,
once you figure out how you managed
to gain ten pounds and max out your
credit card during the month of Decem-
ber.
All sarcasm and kidding aside, I
would like to wish everyone a very
joyous holiday season. I hope each and
every one of you is surrounded by the
ones you love, and remember fondly
those who aren’t there with you.
Happy holidays.
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