By George Pence–
Regarding our relationship to the Almighty, I always thought Christians had it easier than Jews. The Jews were like elder brothers, and it was natural for the Lord to hold His first born to a higher standard.
Then, and only after centuries of perennial disappointment, did God finally realize that human perfection is not an option.
About that time gentiles, people like you and me, first appeared on the divine radar. And given all this difficult history He decided that He’d be less demanding and more indulgent. Instead of floods, flames and pillars of salt, we got Jesus and, “Forgive them Lord for they know not what they do.”
In other words, God loosened up.
Or did He?
Lately I’ve been doing a closer reading of both The Beatitudes and The Ten Commandments, and I’m not so sure we walked away with a better deal. Let’s look at those Ten Commandments. In a world where human actions are infinite, only ten acts are specifically forbidden. Only ten.
If I avoid killing, coveting and carving out images then I’m well on my way to holding up my end of that ancient Hebrew bargain.
Now let’s look at The Beatitudes. At first glance you might say, “This is a list of only eight things.” So far so good, right? But look at those eight things. They include “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” and “blessed are the pure in heart” and “blessed are the peace makers.”
These are not ordinances governing good behavior; these are descriptions of a perfect human heart. Now, I ask you, count the things a person should, or should not do, if he or she is “pure of heart.” (I’ll bet the number is more than ten.)
Say I have a neighbor whose dog barks constantly keeping me up at all hours. And say I dream of a day when I could shoot both him and his dog and put all three of us out of our misery.
But I don’t do that, and I restrain myself.
Then all is right according to The Ten Commandments.
However, what if The Beatitudes are my guide? First I’m denied recourse to my own unreasoning anger – “blessed are those who mourn,” “blessed are those who weep.” And beyond that I’m obliged to reach out in some important way to that idiot next door – “Blessed are the merciful,” “blessed are the peacemakers.”
The Commandments are all about what not to do, while the Beatitudes give no direction as to ultimate actions. They are entirely concerned with the personal qualities that motivate those actions.
The good news for Christians is that now few moral decisions are rigid and absolute, and the bad news for Christians is that now few moral decisions are rigid and absolute. We are obliged to tease the truth out of the tangled mess of our own lives and love everyone even while we’re doing it.
Still, many Christians have an Old Testament disposition. Not because a regimen of unbending rules is difficult, but because it is easy. It limits God’s expectations to a narrower spectrum of human life, and it makes far fewer demands on the human heart.
But, in truth, Old Testament Christians have many New Testament allies; allies that use a preference for discretion over the law as a license to do anything. And sadly, their example is enough to make many people yearn for the better days of Moses and tablets carved of stone.
But my good friends, and hallelujah for it, Christ did come, and He came for a reason. There is no road back from the mount on which he preached, nor the mount on which he was crucified.
