Belief Respecting

In my devotional time this morning I read the following statement from the The Upper Room Disciplines: A Book of Daily Devotions for 2010, "We are called to be witnesses to the ascension. God continues to be the ruler and Lord of all. Finding faithful ways to proclaim our convictions, while respecting others' beliefs is our God-given task." I am a bit perplexed by this as I ask myself the question, "If it is my conviction that a particular belief is wrong, can I respect it?" Does God being ruler and Lord of all make all faith claims equal as the author's statement seems to imply? If that is the case, what do we do with Jesus' claims of being the exclusive way to the Father?

I struggle with this because I believe that historically Christians have not communicated our exclusive convictions in very respectful or edifying ways and in many ways we continue some of those same hurtful patterns even today. For instance, as Christians many of us hold the belief that homosexuality is a sin and equally we all hold the belief that the only way to overcome sin is through the power of the Holy Spirit, but the way we behave towards the homosexual community is often times so unloving and disrespectful to them as people that we make it hard for them to come to a Christian walk where they can receive the very power we believe they need to overcome their sin. I believe that we need to truly alter the way we communicate God in Jesus Christ to others through a filter of love first and foremost. We need to always interact with people in the same way that Christ did, lovingly, respectfully, leaving their dignity as a person in tact. It is these beliefs of mine that make me sympathize with the sentiment the author is attempting to convey that we need to rethink how we share God's love, but the idea that to rethink how I communicate God's love to others I have to respect their belief even though I think it is wrong causes the hair on the back of my neck to bristle.

The question then becomes, "Does communicating God's love to someone mean I respect their beliefs or does it mean I respect them and their free will to choose another belief?" Can I respect a belief that I am convicted is wrong? If I know 2+2=4, if someone tells me, "no, 2+2=5" can I respect that belief that I know is wrong? I don't think I can, but I can respect the person and I can communicate the truth of 2+2=4 in a loving, respectful way that will hopefully convince them to amend their belief in five to the truth of four. What they choose to believe is beyond my control, but I can make a choice to love them regardless of what they choose to believe. To love is not to agree with a belief someone holds that we are convicted is wrong; to love is to operate under the truth that all people are creations of the God that we love so deeply and as such they deserve our love and respect.

There are many voices in the world and even in the Church that suggest that all faith claims are equal and that we should accept and respect those beliefs because, "we all worship the same God." The problem with that belief is that if all religious claims are the same, why should I even bother to choose? The very act of choosing is making a statement that we believe the thing we choose is better than the others, or at least that we think it is better than the others. When I buy a four-door Jeep Rubicon Wrangler my choice is suggesting that I like it better than all other cars in that price range. When I choose Christianity as my religious belief system I am making a statement that I believe it is true and that other religious claims are false because to believe the claims of Christ is to believe that He is the exclusive way to the Father. When I hold this belief I cannot respect the belief of the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Hindu or any other faith claim because my belief informs me that they are wrong; however, I can respect all of the people that hold those beliefs and love them as creations of our loving God.

God is ruler and Lord of all, that includes everyone who makes faith claims different than Christianity; and He loves everyone regardless of our beliefs be them right or wrong; but that does not make all beliefs correct or worthy of respect. People deserve our respect, not belief systems. We need to be boldly humble in the way we communicate the truth of God's love for us through His Son Jesus, but we need to communicate it as absolute truth that will save someone from the sin and frustration of their lives and replace it with joy, hope and love! Our God-given task is to respect people and to love them in a self-sacrificing, always-putting-others-first kind of way. Truth is inherently true, by definition it cannot be false, but for someone to accept a claim as true it is best communicated with love and respect.

Let us be boldly humble in sharing the Love of Christ!