DELIBERATELY DIVERSE | REV. TERRY PIERCE
“Deliberately Diverse” represents the individual opinions of Taylor friends who never completely agree about anything but enjoy diverse discussions.
I have been talking in the past several columns about how Paul patterned his life on Christ’s pattern of life. Christ’s self-giving for the sake of others established the pattern that Paul attempted to follow and encouraged others to follow.
In 1 Corinthians 4:20, Paul says, “The kingdom of God does not emerge by talk but by power (dynamis).”
Paul was not focused on teaching a pattern of belief; rather, he was concerned with the patterns of daily life. It is in acts of self-giving –– caring for the poor, putting the needs of the community above the desires of self, relieving suffering –– that the life and character of God are demonstrated in the world.
My phone has been inundated with messages about how I should vote in the past few weeks, much to my irritation. That has led me to wonder how my desire to pattern my life on Christ’s pattern of life could or should translate into how I vote.
I know from reading Paul’s letters that this isn’t a pick-and-choose deal; I don’t get to pick the areas of my life where I want to try to reflect Christ’s pattern and choose other areas where I get to satisfy my own desires for recognition, power or money.
Making my voting choices based on what is best for me is a quick exit from Christ’s self-giving pattern. If Jesus had chosen what was best for Jesus, it seems unlikely he would have been crucified on a cross for the sake of the world.
So I suspect the question I am supposed to be asking myself is what is best for the community? Does that mean I should vote for what is best for the neighborhood I live in, even if that is not best for another neighborhood? Or should I be thinking of neighborhood more broadly as my town or my country or, perhaps the world?
And while those annoying phone callers and text messages are happy to tell me what is best, how am I to know in an increasingly complex world what is best for anyone?
In my faith community, we commit ourselves at baptism to seek and serve Christ in all persons, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to strive for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being.
These promises are all based in Scripture. They provide me with a guideline I can try to follow, whether in choosing who to vote for or in choosing how to respond to the neighbor with the barking dog.
It does not always provide a clear light, but it does at least direct me away from making choices based solely on self-interest.
Pierce is the retired pastor at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Taylor and can can be reached at terry.pierce. [email protected].
