What We Need Is More Humility

Happy Monday, saints and friends!

Two events happened this past week that reminded me of the need for humility. The first event concerned the opening ceremony of the Olympic games, and the second event was personal. Let's explore.

Full disclosure: I didn't watch the Olympics' opening ceremony. I haven't been interested in the Olympics for years. I only caught the tailwind of this controversy after it happened, but I've spent a great deal of time in the last couple of days trying to wrap my head around it. What do drag queens and the Lord's Supper have to do with the Olympics, I wondered. Then it dawned on me, the Culture War has gone global.

What is the fuss about, exactly?

As it were, the opening ceremony depicted drag queens seated at a table that many Christians took as a mockery of the Lord's Supper. According to the artistic director responsible for the event, there was no intent to mock anyone. Rather, it was all about diversity and inclusion. Everyone from U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker took offense. It was the perfect opportunity for white men like me to quote Bible verses out of context and prooftext their outrage.

After reading much of the dueling narratives, I've concluded that the human race needs a savior now more than ever.

When I first saw the image of the drag queen celebration that supposedly was mocking the Lord's Supper, I couldn't see the Lord's Supper at all. Later, after several hours of research, the explanation of Dionysus and the ancient Greek bacchanal made so much more sense than anything outraged Christians were saying. And the fact that so many Christians are celebrating Donald Trump as if he were the second coming of Jesus Christ makes my gut churn even more.

And if the number one search suggestion for "president" is Donald Trump equated to the Son of Man isn't enough, consider this depiction of The Donald himself replacing Jesus at the center of the table:

Anyone offended by drag queens doing anything and not offended by a depiction of the King of Creation Himself taking a backseat to any earthly political figure has some real explaining to do.

I've noticed that Christians in the 21st century are quick to take offense at every supposed slight against them (whether real or imagined) but slow to forgive and slow to exercise patience with anyone who differs in any small way. This is not the mind of Christ.

Perhaps the church that Christ built should spend less time grumbling about persecution and take cultural tension with a grain of salt. Then, of course, there's the plain truth that we are the largest cultural force in the Western world and not being persecuted at all.

I'll see your outrage and raise you a call for humility.

I've been called a lot of dirty names in the last 58 years, but I don't believe I've ever been called a heretic until this past week. While selling books in a community that has been nothing but friendly toward me, I found myself in a seemingly innocuous conversation with a fellow Christian about how a person comes to know Jesus. In this other person's view, Bible reading was a necessity.

I disagreed.

Now, I'm aware that the prevailing attitude among Evangelicals is that Bible reading is an absolute necessity in the 21st century. Nevertheless, I became foolish for the sake of the truth.

I carefully and politely explained to my dear sister that most Christians in history didn't have access to a Bible, and if they did, they weren't literate enough to read it for themselves. They knew about Jesus because someone told them, verbally, about Jesus and they believed. I thought this was a non-controversial statement. No one in their right mind would dispute it.

Alas, my sister in Christ would have none of that. After hearing me out, she turned to her husband and blurted, "This guy's a heretic!" and stormed off with her husband two steps behind, wagging his tongue like a dog.

Oh dear me, I lost a sale.

Seriously, after reflecting on the exchange, it dawned on me that our churches are doing a poor job of educating Christians on a few simple non-essentials. That's why so many Christians bring those non-essentials to front and center making them all-binding tenets of the faith. But I'm not bitter about it. I know that the devil works in mysterious ways.

I chalked it up as a lesson in humility and I promise to do better next time. If I am a heretic, the Lord will have His way with me.

I'm Allen Taylor and I approve this message.