What Matters Most?

It is tragic that we are easily seduced into allowing the secondary to become the primary.

Jesus was extremely concerned about this issue. That is why he implored the religiously pious of his day to pay attention to their inner lives rather than just outward appearances. He had scathing words for the Pharisees who, though they were behavioral perfectionists, were spiritually bankrupt. He likened them to a mug that is flawless, beautiful and attractive on the exterior but full of slime and crud on the inside.

Jesus continually emphasized the ultimacy of "being." Character is always greater than deeds. Morality is always deeper than correct behavior. That is why Jesus pushed to get to the "heart." Who we are at the core matters most. That's what Paul meant when he wrote that even "if we have the gift of prophecy and know every hidden truth, or dole out all our possessions, or even give our bodies to be burned, but have no love, we are none the better for it." Or you could say, it's very possible to be right about the wrong thing!

One of my concerns for the church is our preoccupation in crafting "correct" creedal statements as if that matters most. Or having the "right" position on the social issues of our time. Or getting our doctrine "perfect." Or figuring out who is guilty. These are not incidental issues and are worthy of our energy. But let us begin where Jesus began – with our inner life, our heart, our very being. This is our Wesleyan heritage. The heart can be filled with love, our motivation can be made holy and our character be one of authentic integrity. Out of "perfected love" we seek to live faithfully and justly and to understand and carefully interpret faith. It is from the heart made right with God that we do what we believe is right. But we always do this with enormous humility, for we know our beliefs are imperfect and our deeds are flawed.

It is this way of "being" which opens us to fresh understandings of God's grace. It allows us to hear differently and relate to others differently. I recently read a promotion piece for a religious magazine: New voices need to be heard. Not from the Left. Not from the Right. But from the Spirit.

I believe these words. We must re-discover the voice of justice born of hope and reconciliation. The Spirit's voice is vastly different from the stale, old voices of cynicism and division heard so often in the media, society and – yes, in the church. The Spirit-Voice is caught up in the prayer of St. Francis: "...where there is hatred let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, joy ... grant that I may not so much seek to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love ... for it is in pardoning that we are pardoned ..."

What a different voice this is from what I have heard lately. This is a voice coming from a deep experience in Christ. It is a voice – an experience – that leads to transformation, healing, reconciliation and renewal. It is a voice stripped of pettiness, artificiality and prejudice. The Spirit- Voice has the weight of eternity on its side.

Which voice do you listen to, respond to, echo?

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