From a Certain Point of View

From a Certain Point of View

Life is so much easier from our own points of view. When we can insulate ourselves from the world, think what we want to think, act how we want to act, live like we want to live, life seems so simple.

It is the nature of all people, I think, to gravitate towards a life that is relatively unconcerned for others, and would instead look out for themselves. Adam and Eve showed us the way in that, didn’t they? And their children reflected that tendency. Even throughout the story of the Jewish people, we see story after story with that tendency on full display.

We seem destined to see things from our point of view, and to view others as either simply wrong, or worse yet, the enemy.

[gatekeeping]

From pop culture to politics to our lives in our community, schools, and churches, we find a point of view we like, and we stick to it. So much so that we eventually forget how to see something from another’s point of view. We start to think that if we try to understand or try to empathize or come to some sort of compromise that we have somehow failed, or gone to some mythical other side!

So we name call. We chastise. We put up walls. We make everything us against them. In short - we give up loving completely.

I say that because if you give up one of these elements of love, you have given up on love. And to give up love is to give up on God Himself - because God is love.

So in no uncertain terms, to be unkind is to be unloving, and therefore, unChristlike if not unGodly.

That can be a hard truth, I think. But in those moments when we aren’t kind - and we all have them - we are abandoning God. And like any other habit, the more we do it, the more normal it becomes! So we must guard always against normalizing unkindness. We must never become those who endorse behavior - in ourselves or others - that is unkind toward others, or lacks decency and civility.

But what is kindness? Is it just being nice? Is it being considerate? Is it not telling someone that they are a problem? Is it TELLING someone that they are a problem?

Well...yes...and no.

[picofkindness]

Kindness is all about perspective. It is something that sees things from a certain point of view.

And that point of view is never our own. In fact, one of the best ways to tell that you are being unkind is to see if what you are doing benefits you, or makes yourself feel better while doing the opposite for the other.

Basically, if what you are doing is for you and not others, it is likely not kind.

Kindness is simply this: an act of seeing every other person as worthy of the same love as yourself. And seeing them that way, treating them as if they were a valuable treasure - regardless of their apparent worthiness of our effort.

But that is a bit wordy still, not to mention they are my thoughts. And how much are those really worth? Not much. Thankfully, though, we have Jesus from our reading today, reminding us of the absolute core truth of our faith!

Mark 12:30–31 ESV

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

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Hear O Israel - or put better in context - hear this you people who claim the identity of children of God! Hear this clearly! The Lord is this one thing! He cannot be divided! God is love! So love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength! And having done that, love your neighbor as you love yourself.

Or better yet - to get to the kingdom of God - to get closer to what He wants, love your neighbor like you God loves you.

After all that is what kindness is. It sees another from a different point of view. Not the point of view of self. Not the point of view of imperfection, and pain, and anger - but the point of view of the perfect Creator of all things. The unified face of love. The God who granted ALL PEOPLE - those you like and those you hate! Socialists, Fundamentalists, Capitalists, Communists, Conservatives, Liberals, Progressives, Steeler fans, Panther fans, Browns fans; black, white, rich, poor, the famous and the rest of us - we are all imbued with the image - His likeness - the very essence of God. And to be unkind, unloving, unhelpful, hurtful, or even rude to them is to do it to God.

We must see things from God’s point of view. We must see that all people deserve the kindness that comes from the loving Spirit that is born in the hearts of those who follow Christ.

[picofdenominations]

But we have somehow created a system of belief - our systematic theology - that disallows and in some cases encourages us to be unkind, and therefore, unChristian.

We forget that all theology must in some way come with an adjective. Traditional, Episcopal, Catholic, feminist, fundamentalist, spirutualist, prophetic, exceptionalist, progressive - all these labels that we assign to our faith, and in so doing we exclude the others as being either invalid or sometimes even heretical!

And we do it forgetting that our own faith came from a certain point of view. Maybe it was your parents, or our culture around us - especially in the south - or the times in which we live, or maybe our social circles. No matter the source, our point of view creates our theological thought, and in so doing we must be careful to remember that our point of view isn’t perfect.

Maybe Pentecostals are right? How on earth can I know? Maybe traditionalists are right. Maybe Progressive theology is the answer. Who knows? Well, God knows! But fortunately, He never once asked for us to be God! In fact, He reminds us constantly that we are not! We must never judge! We must never exclude! We must never find ways to push someone away from the Kingdom of God! Woe to those who do that, Jesus tells us. Woe to those who are a stumbling block to the faith of another.

Not the system of faith, church, that isn’t what Jesus is saying! He isn’t saying woe to those who stop people from being Baptist. He is saying woe to those who get in the way of another person seeing God! REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY SEE GOD!

That isn’t our business. Our business is to love. Love God. Love Neighbor. And that means being patient with God and with them. And as important, being kind.

Allowing them to see things from their points of view. Allowing ourselves to see things from their point of view. Not to have to believe things from their point of views, but to make every attempt to see it from their point of view so that you can see them from God’s point of view.

["First and foremost, we need to be the adults we want our children to be. We should watch our own gossiping and anger. We should model the kindness we want to see." --Brené​ Brown]

And more importantly, to birth in others a point of view that can change the world - the way of love. A way that is guided by our kindness toward others.

Make no mistake, church, we are building a kingdom here on earth. With every act of anger, with every unkind word, with every decision or thought that shows our lack of care for others or our inherently immoral and indecent selves, with every act of selfishness and unconcern for others we birth the future for God’s world.

We have to stop acting like we have no part to play. We have to stop acting like our point of view is all that matters. We have to stop moving culture - if not the planet - towards destruction simply because we think it will make God come back! As if we are God!

We have to stop acting in those unGodly ways, and start acting in love. We must see things from another’s point of view. We must be kind. And we must do it, because if we aren’t kind, we aren’t loving and we aren’t with or of God.

[ripplesinpond]

But how? Start small. If you have ever thrown a pebble into a pond you can see this clearly. Just as every act of unkindness builds our future, so to does every act of kindness - no matter how small.

And all those little acts are like pebbles you throw into a pond. Each one rippling throughout the surface, changing the way the water behaves.

And church, that is what love does! And that love is shown so easily, so readily, through kindness. Through changing our point of view. Through looking at people and situations through the eyes of our creator.

You see, when we - each of us - do that, one set of ripples becomes two, and three, and 10, and 100, and thousands upon thousands! And from that one little consistent attitude of kindness the whole world is changed! Pebbles drop in, ripples rise! The world will be shaken by the power of a small act of kindness multiplied by the billions of believers.

[mirror]

But all that has to start with you. With making a decision to birth kindness into this world. To bring love to life through eyes that see another as more valuable than self, just as Paul instructs us all in Philippians.

But church, we who know God, we who are in communion with Him, we who have received His great grace, mercy, and love; we have a responsibility to change our point of view! To see through His love! To live with His mercy! To offer nothing but His Grace!

And that starts by walking the way of love. Love for God, love for neighbor. Offering the kindness of a heart that sees everyone the way God sees us all. His cherished child.

[pray to close]

[pray, then]

Father, open our eyes. Help us to see that you are the Father of all things - and especially the father of all mercy and kindness. We thank you for that. We thank you for all your goodness and lovingkindness - to us and to all those you have made. We praise you for all of creation, for the preservation of life you offer, and for all the blessings we have; but above all of that, for you immeasurable love shown so purely in the redemption of the world through Christ Jesus our Lord.

We pray now, that you would give us such a sense and awareness of those mercies that we would, with truly grateful hearts, show the world our praise of you, not only with our lips, but in our lives - through our love and kindness that we show to those you have created. And in so doing, may we then walk before you in holiness and righteousness all our days, through the power of Your Spirit, shown so clearly to us in the example of Christ Jesus our Lord, in whose name we now pray. Amen.

The peace or our Lord be with you all, church. Let’s stand and greet one another with the Peace of God; our communal Father and loving God.

[go greet - “Peace be with you.”]

[Announcements - To be mentioned - Youth at my house @ 5-7. Go and Do signups in lobby - also list of items needed for blessing bags for the church to help with. Have them read the rest.]