Last Sunday, televised on CBS, was the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Grammy is, just in case you wondered, short for the complete name, gramophone, the invention that first allowed recorded music to be stored and replayed. Each year, executives in the music industry nominate and select recipients for varied genre specific awards; those they feel have been standouts in their area. All in all, the public must be drawn to it, because estimated viewing in the U.S. alone was 28.5 million people.
This year’s program, much like years past, had various artists performing, comedic interludes, and of course, awards were given. Overall perception, at least as social media recounts it, was a stellar evening with wonderful and over-the-top performances.
Lost though, in the media circus that surrounds these types of things, was an incident that is of particular interest, and topically related to all Christians. It would seem, that after seeing a few of the live performances which included a seemingly satanic episode by Katy Perry, and the marriage of 33 gay, straight, and lesbian, couples, Natalie Grant, a Christian artist who had won multiple previous Grammies, and was selected for 2 more at this year’s event, stood up and left without further comment.
Our world today leaves little unturned and so bombarded with questions as to “why” she left, and knowing that eventually social media would create their own answers if given the opportunity, Mrs. Grant offered the following statement:
“We left the Grammy’s early. I’ve many thoughts about the show tonight, most of which are probably better left inside my head, but I'll say this: I've never been more honored to sing about Jesus and for Jesus. And I've never been more sure of the path I've chosen.”
Now without taking undue liberty, and having read numerous other comments in conjunction with this incident I offer the following explanation. In short, displeased with the integrity, or lack of, depending on your point of view, of the performances, and convicted to uphold her Christian principles, Mrs. Grant chose to separate herself from activities that in her Christian opinion did not fit in God’s intended lifestyle.
Not to be outdone, mainstream media blasted back against what can only be considered a cordial and proper explanation of why she left, by labeling her a bigot, gay-basher, and prejudiced person. Of course, the band wagon gang joined in, and suddenly, Natalie Grant who has always been the epitome of grace in the music industry, is now seemingly hated and disrespected by many. Ain’t that great?
I however, wish to applaud her, because I can’t think of a better example of God’s calling to remain separated, and yet loving, than that of Mrs. Grant and the events of last Sunday evening. And it is in that context that I give to you today God’s calling as Christian; to realize that we must maintain a separation from non-Christians, however, we must do so in a loving and caring way. Call it if you will, maintaining a vividly separated identity.
Now immediately recognize that what I have just said can be, and often is, misperceived. After all, just a few weeks ago I preached on prejudice, encouraging you to accept and love people of all kinds. I am not reneging on my previous sermon, but rather extending the comprehension of it. Maintaining a separation does not mean assuming a prejudicial stance, but it does mean accepting the fact that they are not us, and we are not them; we are separate, and we are not equal, but we maintain this stance with love.
I’m getting a glossy-eyed look so let’s take a moment to look at our text and maybe that will help. I have to tell you that I challenge myself to preach from every part of the Bible, and sometimes you end up with text like today’s which superficially seems like a call to shun post-birth and menopausal women. Now I know that in both instances hormones can make our lady friends hard to get along with, but by no means should we propitiate the Jewish custom of sending our lovely wives out of our homes and sights for periods of time following these events (Now that would be quite a sermon wouldn’t it?). So there must be something useful and relative that we can decipher from these verses, which if you read the surrounding text, seem to just jump up, out, and then disappear again into unrelated topics.
Well here’s the correlation; remember way back in Genesis (3:16) when God is chastising Adam and Eve for their transgressions? Well, one of the results is that God tells Eve that He will multiply her sorrow in childbirth (make it painful and unpleasant). What He is saying is that man, who forever more will come forth as sinful creature, and he will come from woman, but not without her having to experience pain and discomfort associated with giving life to sin; Women will birth sin. And think about it, if a woman is giving birth to sin (or at least a sinful creature) shouldn’t there be discomfort and pain associated with doing so? And at that moment, the moment of conception of sin, there has to be, according to God’s demand for perfection, a separation; if nothing else, than for a temporary time period. God demands that good be separated from evil; sin from righteousness.
And then, given a period of cleansing, as per Levitical law, both child and woman are welcomed wholly cleansed back into the fold of the community. But not until they have been deemed clean can they expect to be fully accepted as one of the group. And during that time of estrangement I want you to see that they, women and baby on one side, righteous on the other, are definitely separate, and they are in no way equal; they simply are not the same thing.
Now I’m not sure how many of you I have lost at this point, but let me explain it another way. Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and I have to give attention to reminding you that Super Bowl is a trade-marked phrase and any money that is derived from the use of that name is solely and wholly the property and responsibility of the NFL. I read an article this week that says unless I blurb that disclaimer I could be sued and jailed for an indefinite amount of time.
Anyway, the big game (that’s what we’re supposed to call it) is today and so I ask, how many of you are Broncos fans. Come on, give me a GO BRONCOS!!! Good, well let me show you my new shirt (for illustration purposes, I am wearing a Seattle Seahawks shirt with Richard Sherman’s name and number on the back, and yes, I fully anticipate a round of BOOS!). What, you don’t like my shirt? But I wear this shirt to make the following points:
1. They play the same football in Seattle that we do here in Denver
2. We are all humans and able to make our own choices, especially when it is associated with the like or dislike of sports teams
3. I have separated myself from you in the wearing of this shirt
4. And unless you are a wagon-jumping fan, and if I can ask you to be very honest, the fact that I am (not really) a Seattle fan, does not fit as being equal to being a Bronco fan
You see, we are separate, but definitely not equal.
Now you and I can hang out together, you a Bronco fan and me a Seattle fan, we can swap stories, talk about the game, but chances are, if you are a true Bronco fan, and I am a true Seattle fan, we are never going to cross the line that separates the two of us. I will always me and you will always be you; separate and not equal. But strangely enough, we will stick to our guns remaining separated in our ways when it comes to something as inconsequential as football, and trust me, God don’t care who wins, and yet when it comes to Christ, we allow the lines to be blurred to the point that we are no longer separate, and we start calling everyone equal.
Seriously, take a moment to think about it. People will sell everything they have, hitchhike across the country, dress up in the oddest of outfits, paint their bodies, stand in sub-zero weather, scream for hours at a time, fight to the death, and act completely crazy to be identified with a sports team. In all of that their main goal is to be separated from the other team, and their constant claims are that the other team is not equal in any way to theirs; separate, but certainly not equal. But that’s football, not Christianity.
For just a moment I want to give a historical perspective; one that illuminates why we have such a difficult time keeping ourselves as Christians separate. Our nation’s battle with this idea began judicially in 1896 via a court case Plessy v. Ferguson. Here the Supreme Court upheld the rights of business owners, institutions, and really all people, to separate whites from blacks as long as both parties were offered equal facilities. This all came crashing down in 1954 as once again in the Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, set forth the policy that separation based on racial backgrounds cannot exist even if equal facilities exist. Of course in both these cases it was public education that was in question, but unfortunately it did not stop there, because it had much further reaching implications.
You see, what has happened is, little by little, bit by bit, expectations grew that everyone and everything must be absolutely equal and conjoined, or else it is in violation of civil rights. As such, I cannot even call myself a Christian without being forced to recognize and support any one of a myriad of other religions. To be politically correct, or so it seems, to swear in a president I can use the Bible, but only if I use the Koran as well. Or I can’t have Christmas anymore, even though we all know it’s about the birth of Christ, unless I also endorse a pagan custom of nakedness and sacrifice otherwise known as the Winter solstice celebration (the winter holiday; happy holidays). And if we take it the final step, societal norms are so, let’s accept everything that everyone does regardless of whether they are God ordained or not, that any mention of separating ourselves as Christians is met with immediate action by any one of a number of socially minded groups. This is exactly what Natalie Grant faces.
Here’s the problem with all of that and it comes in the way of a very well-known saying – “It’s hard to soar like an eagle when you’re flying with turkeys”. There are multiple stories of humans being raised by wolves in the wild, or tigers raising piglets, or lions being raised by dogs; however, what they don’t tell you is that they take on the traits of the other. Don’t expect a pig raised by a lion to be like a normal pig, and I doubt that the lion that was raised by the dog can hunt like another lion. They are ruined of their expected characteristics when they are forced to associate and assimilate with something they should have been separated from.
How do you ruin a strong man or woman of God; make them associate and assimilate the traits of ungodly people. How does spirituality replace Christianity; when you remove the lines that separate the two and tell our children they are the same. How does Islamic prayer time exist when Christian prayer groups cannot; when you announce that they are equal. And how do we face the distinct inevitability that Christianity, as Biblically defined will in very short order be the minority in a country that was founded on nothing other than it and its principles; by coining a phrase called Melting Pot, blurring the lines of separation, and forcing all citizens to adhere to its principles.
Our text is often looked at as kooky. Man, those Jews were/are weird. They don’t believe in Jesus, don’t eat pork, call new moms dirty, and dress funny; but wait, they have, for thousands of years, chosen to remain separate, realizing that their lifestyle and that of anyone else, is not equal. Can we say the same? Are we striving to maintain a line in the sand that declares over here we are Christians and live this way, and over there you are not, live as you choose?
A quote from Charles Spurgeon – Neither when we have chosen our way can we keep company with those who go the other way. There must come with a decision for truth a corresponding protest against error.
I am reading the book called “The Book Thief”, and in this book it recounts the life of a young girl growing up in WWII Germany. I have not finished it, but am at the point in the book where Hitler is beginning his reign of terror, and the war has just begun. Strangely enough though, before Hitler ever went to war, he started a systematic campaign to align all people to his ways and ideas. He began with the young people, requiring that all children become members in a group called Hitler Youth. They, in their uniforms, and recounting propaganda drilled into them, lost their individual identity; they became brain-washed protégés of Hitler. He also required that all books be burned, magazines be subject to review, and any media have the approval of the state; he is removing any separation the people have. And that, removing any separation that existed in beliefs, was the first step in complete take-over of a people. Can we see that the same thing is happening to Christians?
As a teacher I have been warned against wearing large displays of my Christian belief, no jewelry or designs upon my clothing that stand out or merit attention, and yet a Muslim woman is required to wear the scarf that covers her head, not by culture but by religion, and that is allowed. Who is allowed to be separate and who it not, and are we being forced to be equal, and yet we know that is not how God intends it to be.
Our second text comes from II Corinthians 6:14-18: Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
God says that we must maintain a separation; don’t touch the unclean thing; don’t adhere to their principles when He has given us His; don’t be fooled into the melting pot of equality. We can and should love our neighbor as a person, the neighbor who smokes pot, without smoking pot with him; we can respect the right of a friend who is Islamic, without bowing to His god (small g); we can allow a teacher to wear her scarf, but only if we fight to wear our cross; we can allow others to be separate, but we don’t have to agree that they are equal.
If we need one final example, take this. When Moses was dialoging with Pharaoh concerning the release of the Jewish captives, Pharaoh tried to bargain. Moses would say let us do this, Pharaoh would say, I’ll let you do this instead. God kept saying no, and ultimately destroyed Pharaoh’s army. God is not willing to compromise what a Christian looks like, and he knows that any willingness for us to do so will ultimately result in us becoming like them.
And so, if I cannot be a Seattle fan equal with you, know that God will not allow you to be a Christian who cheers for the other team. We, you and I, Christians, are and must remain, separated from them, the others; we must maintain our identity, and never, ever should we be willing to say that your way, the way contrary to God, is equal with God’s way.
I am not calling you to injustice, racism, or prejudice, I am calling you to reality; the enemy wants us to be like them, and they have no desire to be like us. If we allow the transition to continue, we will be nothing like God intended.
And so following the Super Bowl theme:
1. Pick a team
2. Be loyal to that team
3. Stand proud and firm in the face of any opposition to that team
4. Wait for the final whistle
5. Pray that you have picked the winning team
6. And, if you have chosen the correct team, go with that team into eternal victory.
Go Broncos! But most of all, Go Christians!
May Victory be Yours,
Amen
