Musings on blame

The great lie of the modern age is that we need to have an "opinion" on everything, along with the need to assign blame.

On Ukraine, on Trump or Biden, on famous people in the news, on this or that social issue, on powerful people throughout history.

On your nation, on your city, on your church, on your family, on yourself. 

Reality is complicated. It's hard to uncover the truth of things. And moreover, even when things are uncovered, we aren't very good at weighing the merit or moral quality of this action compared to that. 

We cannot set wrongs to right, here on earth, we can only mitigate the damage, and deal with things as they are. As a righteous man said once,

"Do not judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord returns. He will bring to light what is hidden in the dark. He will show the intents of the heart. And, at that time, each person will finally receive their reward from God."

"Impeccability" and flesh and blood

In Sunday School this past week, we talked about Jesus' "impeccability"; that is, his *inability* to sin. I think I had heard it before, but never really contemplated it. But the more I thought about it, the more I found it edifying and rich with meaning; for example, considering that Jesus did not need to demonstrate "overcoming temptation" in order to be the Christ.

So when we read the accounts of Jesus' life, is it about a man who was commended at the end of a righteous and upright life? Perhaps it's similar to Job, who was a good man who faced great trial late in his life? 

Or perhaps we can look at Moses as a parallel story, who led his people out of bondage, but only after learning humility for decades in the desert? 

In short, was Jesus "special" at the beginning of his life, or only at the end? Did he BECOME the Messiah, or was he BORN the Messiah? Or perhaps he was merely PROMISED to be Messiah early in life, and needed to be prepared for it?

No, of course Jesus was Messiah -- fully Messiah -- from birth... and even before birth, in the announcement to Mary. Is this confirmed in his childhood? Yes, of course, even as a youth he called the temple "my Father's house". 

Now, there is the passage in Hebrews which speaks of Jesus "being tempted in every way yet without sin", which some have taken to mean that Jesus was subject to the *internal* temptation of sinful desires. But rather, the context of Hebrews is about Jesus becoming man, to be a "fitting High Priest" whose sacrifice saves us. What kind of "temptation" is this, then? Jesus is described as "suffering when tempted", experiencing the weaknesses of having flesh and blood, reminding us of the temptation in the wilderness, when Jesus experienced bodily pain and hunger. Jesus experienced all these things just like us, and so can sympathize with us and "help those who are being tempted."

It also reminds us that this kind of "temptation through physical suffering" comes up over and over in the scripture. Consider Job, whose PEAK suffering and temptation came AFTER his family members died, when his body was racked with disease. Consider Paul and his "thorn in the flesh". Consider Israel in the wilderness, provoked to sin through hunger and thirst. 

Sure, the immediate doctrine tells us important things about Jesus and his character and his person. But it's also an invitation to consider the nature of "temptation", to consider those who are experiencing physical pain and suffering, doing what we can to ease those burdens, consider the moral temptations that such sufferings bring, reminding us to exhort and encourage those suffering in this way, to hold fast to the Lord and to Jesus, to hope for that resurrected body that will no longer experience pain and hunger. Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly! 

The Christian freedom to not have an opinion

So I think this is a pretty interesting article, though perhaps not for the reasons that the author intends. I think it displays clearly some of the exaggerated moral terms, and irrational ideological fervor, for the dramatically pro-Ukraine secular perspective of American journalistic and political responses to the situation. For example, here's some quotes from this article:

"Ukraine is the most important story of our time, that everything we should care about is on the line there."

"[A] few things are morally clear: slavery, and genocide, and Russia’s attempt to destroy Ukraine."

"For the first time in my life, I felt hopeless about America. And because I have no transcendent beliefs, the loss of this earthly one left a void of meaning that made me sick.

Here was another motive—the strongest and most dubious of all. I wanted a gulp of Ukrainian air. I wanted to breathe its hope. What a thing to ask of people fighting for their lives."

"I asked what she was fighting for.

“Democracy, a new nation, survival—all together,” Olesya said. “This is a sacred war. It’s everything good against pure evil.” "

In the absence of any transcendental beliefs, in the absence of a trust in God's hand directing the nations, the secular voices of media NEED to believe that the democratic systems of the United States have moral and/or ethical superiority over the other nations. And when they doubt or lose that trust in America's systems, there is the frantic need to find moral absolutes, to bind one's cause to a place like Ukraine, a place that needs to be squeeeeeezed into representing our ideals for democracy, and then the war is squeezed into our ideal of "fighting to protect democracy". The war becomes a proxy for the fight that (supposedly) is not happening, or even losing here in the US. Isn't it strange that the Ukraine flag is displayed by people who have never been there, who know nobody there?

As Christians, it's certainly appropriate to pray for those affected by war -- especially our affected Christian brothers and sisters -- and pray for wars to cease, but thanks be to God that we are NOT obligated to have any opinions these political and military situations, whether domestic or international. That is, American Christians are not obligated to support US policies, and are certainly not obligated to worry about the political or military policies or outcomes of the war in Ukraine. 

One of the greatest "freedoms" that Christians enjoy is the freedom to "let God be God" and free our hearts from worry about situations hopelessly out of our control. We are "free" to put our primary care on holiness and righteousness and repentance, both that of ourselves and that of our Christian brothers and sisters in our local congregations. 

I think it's a uniquely Christian blessing, that we have the freedom to say, "No, I don't know much about that, I don't really follow the news," through our trust in God's providence in all things.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/10/ukraine-invasion-civilian-volunteers-survival/671241/