The Me-Attitudes
Christianity should not be condemnation
What if Jesus said…
Blessed is the wealth mind-set, for money controls the kingdom of heaven
Blessed are those who are self-congratulatory, for they love to comfort only themselves.
Blessed are those oppressive and abusive, for they take the earth by force.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for power, for they shall feed their greed.
Blessed are vengeful, for they show the power to rule.
Blessed are the duplicitous in heart, for they see only themselves.
Blessed are the Warmongers, for they will be called children of Mars
Blessed are those who are persecuting the alien and stranger because of self-righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of mammon.
Blessed are those who insult and speak evil against folks because of their race, religion, sexuality, or tax bracket. Feel good about yourself, because of your great prosperity serves to prove your righteousness. Just as the prophets of old were persecuted…persecute those who are beneath you.
There is a remote possibility that Christians will rise out of the ground like the undead in a dystopian graphic novel once they read that. Some will miss the point altogether and wonder if there is a demon hiding in my sock drawer that made me put this spin on the beatitudes.
Well, there isn’t a demon in my sock drawer. There are two! One is named Franklin, and he has a friend named Jerry…they are in there tormenting me. By that I mean, that is where I keep my phone at night, and every morning, I read things that hurt my brain. I wonder if Christians still care about the words of Jesus anymore. From where I am sitting, the Me-attitudes are closer to the speech and behavior patterns of Christians these days. The core message of Jesus, The Sermon on the Mount, is being ignored.
Last week, a fundamentalist Christian called me a snowflake lib-tard. Here is what I posted in response to a rant about the “money-sucking, gutter trash” or the folks in his community that we on welfare.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
Jesus and his snowflake, lib-tard words are going against the will of the people again!
This serves as a great example of the problem that has people fleeing the church… inconsistence in faith ideals that are dripping hypocrisy. I am not trying to heap burning coals on the church by any means. I want someone to look in the mirror see what the rest of the world is seeing. It’s ugly, and it is not love. At the core of the message of Jesus is Love. In the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus said:
“So, I give you a new command: Love each other deeply and fully. Remember the ways that I have loved you and demonstrate your love for others in those same ways. Everyone will know you as My followers if you demonstrate your love to others.”
This is huge! If the love message of Jesus is redacted, then we no longer have the spirit of Christ. How can people say that you are Christ-followers and ignore his love message? That would be like proclaiming you are the world’s biggest fan of Queen and not know the words to We Are the Champions… or We Will Rock You…or Another one Bites the Dust.”
Lately, the fans of Jesus have forgotten the words to The Sermon on the Mount. When our actions and message go against the teachings of the teacher… we are no longer following the teacher.
The Sermon on the Mount was preached by Jesus a couple thousand years ago, and it still echoes through the corridors of time. It encapsulates who and what Jesus is all about and yet, I fear that it is now equated with some sort of leftist hippie agenda. It’s not …It is Jesus. I hear fighting and arguing over theology, politics, and Christian leaders saying the worst thing regarding human beings, chastising the poor and the alien, the welfare recipient and the like and it is disturbing. Remember what Jesus said about “the least of these”?
Instead of emulating what it is to be “poor in spirit,” a wealth mindset is represented. Pressing into the holiness of what it is to mourn, is replaced with a self-congratulatory spirit. Meekness is kicked aside, so an oppressive and abusive attitude can run free and is not only defended; it is encouraged. This anti-gospel ideology uses the name of Jesus to promote and impose itself on others.
Did Jesus ever impose his will on anyone? For those of you scratching your heads right now — the answer is, “no!” The answer is, always “no!” Jesus is not some provocative politician running a Ponzi scheme! He is called the Prince of Peace, not the Prince of Persecution.
So, what happened. I wish I had an answer. All I can say is that we all need to be mindful of the lyrics on Jesus’ last album and learn to sing all those songs the very best we can.
You know, even if you are not someone that believes in Jesus as prescribed by Christianity, you might be able to agree with what he taught because he taught some serious things that changed humanity forever.
So, here is an idea, what if we all took our political stance, religious affiliation, and our belief system and laid them all next to the Sermon on the mount to see how they measure up? In other words, we all take a look in the mirror and see what the world sees. What is the worst that could happen? We all become better people who are more patient and loving with each other? This isn’t about converting folks to a religious belief, this about becoming students of Jesus, the son of God… the ascended master, the prophet, or political activist…or whatever you think about him because his message is hope and its love. The world is desperate for hope right now and the champions of hope are distracted with theology and politics. If we become students of the Master, then this big blue marble we call home will only get better. It’s how hope is realized. So, go on now…read The Sermon on the Mount and see what you learn — not for the sake of religion but for the sake of humanity.
With Violent Hope,
~Rudy Trussler
