God is and Elitist...and Thats OK

I remember the first time I was faced with the concept that I really wish I could redesign God.

I was a college freshman and my roommate and his girlfriend were in a heated debate over whether or not Jesus was the only way to heaven. He was a nominal Catholic (meaning he went to church, but didn't pay attention) and she was a Baptist. He felt very strongly that people devoted to their faith, any faith, surely wouldn't be punished by God. Eventually, they looked at me to settle the debate. I responded with what I very firmly knew, "Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him." Confident that I had sufficiently settled the debate, I went back to trying to avoid this sort of conversation. But then he asked, "OK, but what about those people who have never heard of Jesus specifically? What if they worship a concept of God, without knowing the specifics? Would they still go to Hell for not accepting Jesus?"

The question really struck me. On one hand, I firmly believed what Jesus said about being the only way to the Father. On the other, it seemed really harsh of God to send these folks innocently ignorant of Him to Hell. I honestly didn't ( and really, still don't) know what to say to that, but I said that I believe God provides a way for them anyway.

And so, I made my first post-modern statement on God, long before I knew what post-modern was.

I have come to see that it is common and accepted for us to state what we think God would do, based only on what we want Him to do. There are the Pat Robertsons of the world who want God to judge harshly the sinners, so Hurricane Katrina is a judgment on 'sinful New Orleans.' There are a lot of folks who want God to be a teddy bear of love an acceptance for all, so they create doctrines that say nothing is sin. There are those who want God to be benevolent and a pacifist, so they protest wars and seek more government aid for the poor- while condemning those who don't agree with their methods.

On a personal level, I can think of times in the not to distant present when I, as a pastor, have been asked a question, and knowing that my response might alienate the questioner, tried to tailor my response to be what they want to hear- or at least a more easily digested response. I think my wanting to be liked and to pastor a church that is liked has made me sometimes wishy-washy with things of a concrete nature. Because of that, I can relate to people who try to make God in their own image, and it makes me a little angry at myself.

And it doesn't just happen with ideologue, politicians, activists and pastors, we all do it. We adopt an opinion and try to make sure God ( and everyone else) agrees with us.

But God is an elitist.

God is an Elitist, and That's OK
I really despise elitism amongst people. Elitism, as we know it, is just that at some point, someone decided one thing was more high brow than an another. Opera (soap operas sung in Latin) are determined to be more elite than Country Music (soap operas sung in Texan). Certain schools are more elite than others- sometimes justifiably so, sometimes because Old Money went to that one and not the other. Elitism, in my opinion is about believing that I am better than you, and that you are unable to comprehend just why, because you are too simple.

By that definition, God is an elitist.

God is better than us. He's perfect, so He's got that squared away. And truthfully, we really are too simple to understand why His ways are better than ours. (Right here is where He would play the "I'm Perfect!" card, if His ways were about the playing of such cards.) Inherent in that, is that we can't make sense of our God's choices, so we are lesser beings that He.

And that's OK.

The problem arises when we live in a world that demands to know how and why things work, but at the same time demands that there be nothing definitive about those things. "It may work for you, but it doesn't work for me." This may be a true statement for a workout regimen, but it cannot be true for the foundational aspects of God.


Some Things Are Not Negotiable
There are aspects of the Christian faith that are negotiable. We have freedom, given by Christ on the Cross to not be bound to extreme legalism. So, there is no absolute decree that I can't watch an R rated movie or have a beer. But for some people, they feel a strong desire to avoid those things, and they may attribute it to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I view this type of thing as a negotiable- if the Bible doesn't explicitly say 'Yea' or 'Nay,' then the answer is to be found in personal interaction with God.

Non-negotiables are things explicitly stated about God. For instance, and back to where this started: There is one God, and one way to Him. Is it harsh? Is it elitist? Is is exclusionary? Absolutely. But keep in mind that God has always been this way. In the Old Testament, it was routine that an ENTIRE city be destroyed along with ALL inhabitants (kids and pets, too) so that the Israelites not be tempted with other gods. God is an elitist because He believes Himself better than anything else. In fact, He believes He is the ONLY one. Now, if I believe everything else God says about Himself (Creator, Perfect, Savior, Provider, Protector, Comforter, etc), how can I deny that when He says He is the Only God, He's telling the truth?

It is a pick and choose, a cafeteria plan God, we want to serve today. We want a God who is all loving, a pacifist, a nice guy who wouldn't heart a fly- or say anything bad you either. God is a kind, compassionate God who loves the poor and sick, but God is also a jealous God who has raised nations only to destroy them. God has used national disasters to destroy the wicked, God has shown immense kindness to those who are weak and poor, and He has sought an end to violence and war.

Jesus himself is a contradiction, a being beyond our comprehension in many ways. Jesus came healing and speaking of love and restoration of things. But he also said he came to divide families, to turn children and parents against each other. Jesus spoke of peace, yet grew violent when people made a mockery of God. Jesus broke no laws of God, yet made it so that we were no longer slaves to that same law.

The truth is, we need to be very careful when we try to speak for God. The truth is, we never know exactly what God is thinking. Like my opening story, I know Jesus is the only way to the Father- He said so. What I don't know is if or how He will reveal Himself to people who know nothing of Jesus. Honestly, I don't know how He will reveal Himself to my own kids. So rather than try to make God do or say what I think will be best for someone to hear, I'll pray.

I'll pray that God makes clear the path I should follow, and the path I should point others to. I'll stop giving advice that protects my popularity, and start giving advice that is founded in the unshakable Truth of who Christ is.

And rather than me telling you what I think that Truth is- I'll tell you to seek Him for yourself. Ask me questions about what I believe, sure, but know that what I say is a very distant second to what He will reveal to you in His way.

We need to know what and why we believe, and the only way to discover that is to seek God and rely on His answers. Then, we need to stand on His truth, and not ride the fence.

That's really what I find wrong with much of today's theology- those who know what they believe are too afraid of culture to say what they really believe. And too often, those who do say what they really believe say it not out of love, but out of a desire to appear right and elite.

And really, God is the only one justified in being an Elitist.