common sense

ok.  so here is what is going to happen.  i’m going to do what i want to do on here. which basically means thinking out loud. i’m usually incorrect, if not incoherent, so let’s see if i can be neither right now.

several people have used the phrase “common sense” in regards to how to handle situations of moral or ethical dilemmas.  and i cringe.  here is my thinking. and if i sound crazy, then i think i might be on the right track.

i am 100% certain the Christian faith and living the life Jesus called us to requires complete abandonment of common sense. please, hear me out. Jesus was not an american capitalist, nor a free enterprise champion, nor a mighty soldier, or a political king, he also wasn’t a titan of industry. he did not wave a flag of the usa, chanting for the government to give us our guns, nor did he expect government to solve our problems.

ok. Jesus did this, he taught things that were completely counter to the culture of the time he lived in. he taught things that common sense would tell you were ludicrous. turn the other cheek when someone hits you? of course he didn’t mean that literally. (please understand, defending the defenseless is different. but fighting fire with fire, not biblical, if you follow). but what else could it mean? common sense would say that if someone hits you, fight back.  Jesus says, no, just let it go.  he says you are completely different than anyone else around you.

or when he said if a roman soldier has you carry his things one mile, take them two.  common sense would say, carry the dang stuff 5280 feet and drop it right there (as roman soldiers could require such service).  Jesus says, forget that, carry it two miles, you are living a completely different lifestyle. this is a radical type of love that defies all explanation.

i don’t know what to do. i mean He really meant it when He said “deny yourself take up your cross and follow me” he really did. and self likes common sense, safety and security. but is that what He called us to do? be safe and secure, make sure you’ve got great health insurance and a fat bank account?

dave ramsey tells me to have 3-6 months emergency expenses and invest like crazy to retire rich. Jesus tells me to deny myself, he tells me the widow who gave little, but more than she could afford, gave the most. i know Jesus never says to tithe, because he wants more than that. i know that Jesus did not live a comfortable life in his house with his xbox and netflix. i know that his followers gave up a great deal, (fishing boats are expensive) to come after him.

i don’t know how to respond. common sense tells me that people aren’t going to know who Jesus is if we all sell everything and move into burlap sacks downtown. common sense tells me that it will be hard to accomplish the american dream and do what Jesus called me to do at the same time.

a life radically different than those around you. the great samaritan parable, defies common sense. he put himself in a super dangerous situation, and he should have never been the hero of that story, he was “one of them” the enemy, the hated ones.

the prodigal son parable would have had first century Jews vomiting in their mouth at the thought of that being the Kingdom of God they had waited for.

the Kingdom is completely different than what anyone expected. maybe we are still missing the point?

i know the bottom line is this. i am not doing enough. i must sacrifice, give, love, serve, and deny myself more.  that much is true. i must simplify, i must sacrifice. i must be part of the change, not the bam bam change in 08.  the real change. the change that the life giving power of the Triune God can bring.  i just have no idea what that looks like most days.

~ by benstroup on 07/05/2009.