Ever had one of those moments in thought where you suddenly became aware of yet another area of your life which hadn't evolved past that which you were taught in grade school? Me too! Actually, in my head that happens more often than not. I'm sure that when you read the title to today's blog you at least raised your eyebrows and maybe even said, "This should be good!" You may have even said, "He's gone too far now." Bear with me and perhaps we can see how our world has changed and so have we. It's not a big jump in logic to see that we are not the people who formed this country. Nor are we the people who made up the first century church. We are, however, a people who have carried the same message since the creation of Adam and Eve. That would be the message of individual community. Just what does it mean to be involved in individual community? For beginners we need to be conservative socialists.
When we look back on history every era and every people group had what they defined as their basic belief for all people. Different slants on history aside, the understanding was that "their" discovery of "their truth" was used to shape "their world" as they saw it. Previous generations would roll over in their graves to see what the current generation was now defining themselves as. This is the repetition of history through the ages. Today we can have instant access to more information than was ever thought possible. Our smart phones kind of ruin a good game involving trivia. We have accomplished two things with our "evolving". The first is we have succeeded in becoming a people who are selfish and self centered. Yes, I know it's true of every generation since Eve first ate of that fruit. However, the reasoning for our selfish and self-centered existence has become something of a future focused event instead of being shaped by history. We have arrived at a place where time has accelerated and continues to do so at a rapid rate. Those who don't adapt are left behind. That's okay though because we are no longer our brothers/sisters keepers. The second evolution is our sense of being a victim and being victimized. Our definitions have so evolved that nothing is our responsibility anymore. It's all caused by the environment, the different classes, education, and of course race non-integration. So, we are moving forward with a clear selfish agenda despite what anyone else wants because of the "common good." And this, we are doing at the speed of technology. We simply have left behind a huge portion of people both inside and outside of our churches.
From today's definition of conservatism we are able to still see the Bible as a conservative directive on how to live. The ten commandments are still divided with 6 towards our fellow man and 4 towards God. All 10 are focused on interaction and support of our fellow man. They are in definition conservative standards that have existed since time began. Okay, maybe a little longer than that. Jesus came and lived amongst us teaching us these 10 commandments while redefining them into the 2 commandments. Love God and love others. Even today we still have a standard of what is acceptable and what is not to engage in and not be in conflict with God's commands. Jesus was conservative and so we should be. Jesus was also socialist as we understand the word today. Jesus was all about us taking care of each other because God takes care of us. We are to be imitators of Jesus and that means we acknowledge that we live differently. We are to be conservative in all areas of our lives and we are to be socialist towards all people. Both require us to confront whether or not we will obey the 10 or the 2 commandments. Should we choose to not obey, we neither love God nor do we love people. In that case, we love ourselves.
When we survey the people around us we understand that they understand things differently than we do. Getting past the definitions to the place of common ground is important to everyone. That doesn't mean we live at the lowest common denominator. Rather, it means we take the high road and love God and love people despite what the world says. It means we abandon our selfishness and understand we are a part of something greater. What it does NOT mean is that we are free to live a sinful life. This does NOT mean we can't ignore the history being written that cannot be unwritten down the road. We need to practice the life of Christ in all areas of our living. That includes being a conservative socialist like Jesus.
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