The Only Thing That Matters

What do the following things have in common?

• Eating certain kinds of meat
• Not eating meat at all
• Drinking wine
• Not drinking wine
• Being circumcised
• Not being circumcised
• Touching blood
• Not touching blood
• Spanking your children
• Not spanking your children
• Having children
• Not having children
• Getting married
• Not getting married

The Answer:  At some point in history, ALL OF THESE things have been seen as religiously wrong by some people, and for some people.  For example, the early church debated on whether it was wrong to eat meat if the animal had been sacrificed to an idol.  Some said it was participating in idol worship, and others said, "No--it's just meat."  For Nazirites (those who had taken a holiness vow), it was wrong to drink wine.  But some rituals for both Jews and Christians require the consumption of wine.  In the Bible, certain religious workers were required to touch blood, and they were considered holy.  Yet, other people were deemed unholy if they came in contact with blood.  These kinds of things leave a religious person in a complete quandry.  It seems that good and faithful people disagree on what ought to be basic rules of the faith.

Some Christians say that acting like Jesus means being nonviolent, especially towards children.  Others say, "Spare the rod, and spoil the child."  In the history of the church, some believers insisted that being circumcised was the only way for a man to be holy, yet others insisted it was of no value, and even that the practice should be abandoned.  For two thousand years, the church encouraged most people to get married and have children, yet there were two groups of people expected to live a celibate life: those who were ordained, and those who were gay (But you'd better not be both of those things!).

All of this leaves religious people scratching their heads, wondering what they should do.  It seems we've become very good at double standards.  Jesus had the right answer when he said that there are two rules we need to follow: love God and love your neighbor (Luke 8:27).  All the rest is details.  The apostle Paul put it this way, "If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others (Galatians 5:6 CEV)."  

If you really want to be daring, you can insert your favorite religious squabble by saying, "It makes no difference whether you are _______ or not.  All that matters is your faith that makes you love others."  I had some horrified religious people when I taught a class on the book of Galatians, because it's one of the most irreligious of New Testament books.  They were upset because religion is all about following rules, keeping quotas, and making God happy by what we do or what we refrain from doing.  But radical spirituality says that the only thing that matters is not rules.  It's your faith that makes you love others.

Are you a religious person?  Are you a spiritual person?  Are you hung up on rules, or do you want a relationship with God that works itself out by loving people?  That's the only thing that matters.  And Jesus said if you love God and people, you've kept the entire Law.