The Faith I Highly Recommend by John Thomas McLarty

Author:John Thomas McLarty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Review and Herald® Publishing Association
Published: 2011-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

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Liberals and Conservatives

Let us stop passing judgment on each other. Instead, resolve not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way (see Rom. 14:13).

“Master,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him because, he is not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:49, 50, NIV).

OK, OK. I know they’re tricky labels. And labels often obfuscate as much as clarify. But in this case I can’t think of any other convenient shorthand. And while “liberal” and “conservative” are notoriously imprecise, they will work for our present purpose.

Think of the church as a house. The conservatives are the builders; the liberals are the decorators. The builders pour concrete and nail two-by-fours. The decorators add flowers and skylights.

Liberals and conservatives are always arguing over the house. Conservatives think of the house as a fortress against evil. They want it sturdy enough to handle a 9.0 earthquake and an F4 tornado. Conservatives invest huge amounts of time and money in building a strong house and they want it to stay that way. Understandably, they resent anyone messing with it. They fear any change in the structure of the house will make it vulnerable to attack from thieves, termites, tornados, earthquakes, or fire.

Leave it alone, they insist. It’s strong. It has served well. Don’t fix what ain’t broke.

Then liberals come along and start tinkering. They want skylights and larger windows. They insist on carpet in the living room and Italian tile in the kitchen. They want wallpaper in the entry and bedrooms. They want glass blocks in the exterior wall beside the front door to lighten the entry hall. They order new appliances for the kitchen. And while they’re at it, they suggest removing the wall between the kitchen and the family room and another wall between the living room and dining room.

Conservatives watch all this remodeling with growing dread. Those openings in the roof for skylights are sure to leak. The larger windows will be extremely vulnerable during hurricanes. And the wallpaper and carpet are just a waste of money.

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If conservatives can keep the liberals out of the house, it will be sturdy for sure. Quake proof, wind proof, fire proof. On the other hand, you may end up with a house the kids won’t want to live in. Who wants to walk on concrete floors, sleep on cots, and hang blankets over the windows for privacy in the evening?

If the liberals manage to oust the conservatives, we may end up with a gorgeous, comfortable structure that will collapse in a 3.2 quake or blow over in a 50 mph gale. The skylights may leak, the carpets will be beautiful and impossible to clean. The bathroom will be attractive but the plumbing will leak.

In the church, liberals don’t build institutions; conservatives do. Colleges, hospitals, publishing houses, summer camps, academies, and churches are all built by conservatives. Conservatives are

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