The
following paragraph captured my attention in Dr. James. K.A. Smith’s article[1]
entitled ‘Naturalizing Shalom, Confessions of a Kuyperian Secularist’ (This was published in the Ezra Institute’s
Spring publication of their helpful magazine, ‘Jubilee’. Here is the paragraph:
"What
begins as a gospel-motivated concern for justice can turn into a naturalized
fixation on justice in which God never appears. And when that happens,
“justice” becomes something else altogether — an idol, a way to effectively
naturalize the gospel, flattening it to a social amelioration project in which
the particularity of Jesus as the revelation of God becomes strangely
absent."
Let me try
to paraphrase Dr. Smith’s thoughtful statement: Our love for Christ can produce
an interest in certain civil causes, but there is a danger that the obsession
with the cause becomes more important than the initial incentive. OK, let’s make is even simpler: A person can, from great Gospel-centered
incentive become concerned over the poor and the hungry. In such a case, there is an ever-present
danger that feeding the poor becomes the main thing and the Gospel is eclipsed.
Over the
years many such good and healthy causes have come to the forefront. Abortion has been and still is a major
issue. Christians have sought to address
aboriginal issues in Canada. Currently
same-sex unions, the blurring of gender identification and currently public
education concerns the Church in Canada to a huge degree. Dr. Smith’s warning
should be our warning. Let us not forget
why we are concerned about these issues.
If we simply become advocates for better health care, better schooling
and gender integrity we ultimately become secular reformists.
We are always in danger of doing good and helpful things (or to use Dr.
Smith’s word: “ameliorative” things.) and that where it remains – or it
flattens out. In other words, you could
say, “In the same
way, let your light shine before others, that things will get better;” or you
could say, “In the
same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, NIV).
When the ‘cause’ becomes the ‘end’, “God never appears”, but
when the ‘cause’ becomes a means to the end – and God (and the Gospel) is the
end, God is glorified.
So how do we do that?
I will address that in another post.
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