Shall We Be 'Politically Correct' Sermon.
By Richard W. O'Ffill
I don't remember when we first began to use the term, 'political correct.' These days it's commonplace to hear that something is politically correct or perhaps is not politically correct. I could give you an example of some of the issues that are politically correct or not politically correct, but if I did, it wouldn't be politically correct!
We probably shouldn't be suprised by the things that the world comes up with. These days you can expect almost anything. Scripture cautions us about the world and tells us that we must be careful not to allign ourselves with it, because if we do, we will soon find ourselves becoming an enemy of God. It also says that if we insist on loving the world, the love of the Father will not be in us (1 John 2:15). What is the Bible talking about when it admonishes us not to love the world? After all, we live in this place.
When the Bible tells us not to love the 'world,' it is refering to accepting the perspective of the world or having contemporary view of things. By a worldly perspective of life I mean that our decisions are based on what the majority happen to be into at a particular time. Sometimes we refer to this process as peer pressure.
Some will claim it is unfair to say that in the contemporary culture the majority is always wrong. Yet history pretty well bears that out. Jesus put it in plain Aramaic when He said that broad is the road that leads to destruction, and it is always congested with traffic (Matthew 7:13). So that you can visualize what He was talking about. He meant the the road to hell would look like one of the Los Angeles freeways at rush hour. But Jesus also spoke of another road (Matthew 7:14). He taught that the road that leads to eternal life dosen't have as much traffic, but nevertheless one has to be very careful when one drives one's life on it because it is so narrow.
We must not allow ourselves to have the perspective of the world which is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Jesus made it clear that the person who is hung up on the flesh will stand the risk of losing both body and soul. Jesus taught that a person's life is not about food, cloths, houses, nor good looks, but about the eternal things of the kingdom of heaven. The worldly perspective of life is just the opposite. The world teaches that the more we have, the happier we will be. The world boasts that life is about food, cloths, houses, good looks, and sex.
What does blow my mind, however, is how in this generation the world seemingly has become the role model for the church. This is a modern tragedy; and unless we change it, it will mean the collapse of Christianity as we have known it. I have come to the conclusion that if things continue as they are, not only is our church at risk but Christianity itself.
Have you ever considered what the Old Testament is about? Consider for one moment. The Old Testament is the history of what happened when the Children of Israel began to be culturally sensitive to the nations that surrounded them. The Old Testament is a story of what happened when Israel tried to be politically correct.
The church has never gone down like the World Trade Towers, suddenly and all at once. Its fall has usually been the result of something that was going on internally and over a period of time. It was the result of being politically correct.
I might be wrong, but I believe that the term 'political correctness' is an expression that is being used to force the ideas and points of view of an agendized few on the rest of us. Not only that, but the words politically correct also mean that it is not to be talked about anymore. It's a done deal!
If this were not bad enough, the concept of political correctness has somehow gotten into the church. This will have far-reaching implications, because it will allow error to be institutionalized while truth is being intimidated into not being able to respond or to rebut what may be going on.
It often amazes me that the great majority of people, whether in our country or even in the church, so often choose to remain silent and, in effect, cast their lot with whatever happens to be politically correct at the time.
I could only wish that, in the spirit of Christ, more people would stand up and let their voices be heard. When we do not hear the voices of many, what ends up happening is that things soon are taken over by a radicalized minority, and then the debate is stopped in the name of political correctness.
These are excerts from this article by Richard W. O'Ffill.
Here is the site if you wish to read the complete sermon.
http://www.revivalsermons.org/sermons/political.shtml