Holier Than Thou

Joel 2:23-32
1 Corinthians 13
Luke 18:9-14


The people of Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka KS are back in the news. For some reason they’ve taken up the practice of picketing at the funerals of service members killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan, maybe because this is where they believe they can get the most attention for whatever king of message they think they have for America. As a result of their actions, many state legislatures and the US Congress have initiated laws to help protect grieving families from such displays by mandating an acceptable distance so that these families can be somewhat shielded from these people. A group called “Freedom Riders” also takes part in these funerals, with the family’s permission, by offering a motorcycle escort and barricade so that these Westboro people cannot be heard or seen by the grieving families.

Why do these people travel from Kansas to all parts of the country where families are laying their loved ones to rest? Why do they go to such lengths, such trouble, and such expense knowing as they must that they are bringing undue grief on an already grieving family? They proclaim that those killed in action are the result of the Lord’s judgment against America. In this particular instance, they were also picketing the fact that the young Marine had been raised in the Roman Catholic “monstrosity” (Westboro’s word choice). They are now being sued by this Marine’s family for causing emotional distress and for violating the family’s desire for, and right to, privacy. There may well be a constitutional issue pertaining to whether the right of free speech supersedes the implied right to privacy, but I’m not so sure that this is the issue at hand for the Lord’s faithful.

The judge had instructed the jury to determine whether the “speech” displayed by Westboro can be considered so “offensive” and “shocking” as to fall outside the acceptable parameters of 1st Amendment protection. For Christians, there are greater issues at stake than constitutionally protected “free speech”. It must be determined how such displays as those advocated by Westboro and other groups like them can in any way be construed as having come from the Lord as something that needs to be heard and particularly at the funerals of young service members whose families are grieving and who may not even be in full support of this war OR the rights of homosexuals which, incidentally, seems to be the entire focus of Westboro’s “ministry”, if “ministry” is even the appropriate word in this case.

There are those among us who will not argue for homosexuality. I will be first to say that there is a biblical prohibition against homosexuality that cannot be ignored by the faithful. I will also be the first to say that bringing such a message of judgment or warning of judgment comes with enormous responsibility that also cannot be ignored, and that responsibility is this: be very careful with handling the Word of the Lord because Jesus Himself proclaimed, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:17 NKJV

This is huge for the faithful. If there were any during the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth who might have been in line for condemnation, it would have been the Pharisees and the scribes and the chief priests and the Sadducees. These were religionists who were constantly at odds with Jesus, and the Gospel accounts are chock full of these confrontations in which Jesus uses the words of the Hebrew Scripture against them. I suppose if there could be anyone who could be trusted with the Word, it would have been Him since He IS the Word.

Speaking the truth, however, and refusing to soft-pedal that which is clearly written is also part of the responsibility in handling the Word of the Lord but if we get caught up in a “holier than thou” war of words, we may find ourselves in the predicament of the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14. By his own words, the Pharisee may well have brought condemnation upon himself by his own proclamation of self-righteousness. It must also be noted in the language that the Pharisee has clearly taken it upon himself – in his PRAYER, no less – to condemn the tax collector or, at the very least, elevate himself to a spiritual position superior to that of the tax collector. It should be equally clear that the Pharisee GOT *** IT *** WRONG.

By the Word as written, the Pharisee clearly lives according to the standards of the Mosaic Law; by his actions alone, he stands as a righteous man. Where we faithful typically fail, however, is in our lack of understanding that when it comes to righteous behavior and judgment, the Lord is speaking to our personal behavior and not to us as appointed judges of others. We have problems enough of our own just trying to live up to such a holy standard as that established by Jesus. It is not reasonable or practical that we would choose to take the burdens of others upon ourselves to judge as well. We have enough to do by just trying to be the faithful witnesses we are called to be.

Even speaking of the truth as it is written, Paul also raises a pretty high standard in his First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13. St. Paul summarizes the whole thing for us in simply this: lacking genuine love in our speech or in our assessment of others, and we are only making noise; incomprehensible noise that no one can understand or even care to listen to. In our words we may be telling the truth as we see it and we may be honest in our assessment but if we lack a genuine concern for those to whom our “truth” is directed, we’re only judging others to our own condemnation.

For the faithful, it is never enough to simply be “right”. There has to be more in a richer and fuller understanding of what the Word of the Lord is all about. Yes, there are laws and yes, there are standards of conduct and behavior. There is also Paul’s admonition to Timothy as to the purpose of Scripture: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17

It’s not what the people of Westboro are saying that is so disturbing. Rather, it is the way in which they present the message. Going to a grieving family who has lost a loved one in a war the family may not even support and suggesting to them that the death of their 20-year-old son was of the Lord’s doing and then displaying signs and placards which state such reprehensible messages such as, “Thank God for IED’s” is hitting below the belt and stands to serve more as a message of alienation than a message of hope. Such messages of condemnation remove all hope, and the Gospel of the Lord is nothing if not hopeful, for all “who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32). Who are any of us to dare try to remove these words that come from the Word of the Lord Himself?

It is not easy to live according to the standards which have been established for us. We don’t typically want to judge others because if we use our ability to reason, we can surely understand that there is probably more that we DON’T know than that we do know. Each of us can easily think back to a time when someone jumped to conclusions about us based only on what they were only able to see with their eyes – or worse – based on what they’ve been told, and it turns out we never had a chance to begin with. It is not fair that we should have to stand up to such unfair assessments, but we do because we are left with few choices once someone gets done with us.

It is the same thing that happens when people like these Westboro folks go off on a tangent such as they do. They may well have philosophical, ideological, or religious objections to certain public policies, but none of these differences give them a legitimate calling to take this hateful message to someone who is already in pain and not necessarily responsible for such public policy. Kicking someone while they are already down is almost always counter-productive and must never be considered an act of Christian love.

I question how much of the Bible people like these actually read. In the case of Westboro people, I’m still waiting for them to get to the part where Jesus tells His disciples that if the message they bring is rejected – and these people have been rejected from coast to coast - they are to then “shake the dust from their sandals” and move along. Then again, there is a lot more that I DON’T know about these Westboro people than what I DO know. I hate what they are doing, but I must not allow my disdain for their actions overrun my emotions to the point of coming to hate them. Remember, Christ was raised for the sake of their hope as well as for ours.

This knowledge must be the key to everything we do, and this knowledge must overcome every thought we ever have when confronted with angry, hateful, blind, and ignorant people. They do more harm than good and almost always leave a swath of destruction in their wake. It is up to Christians of good faith to come along and help pick up the pieces and raise up those who have been kicked down.

We were once down but have since been raised up with nothing but a Word of Hope. Dare we offer the rest of the world anything less?