How far we have come!

The president of the congregation came up to me after my sermon on Amos 8/Matthew 25 and said, "You know, Pastor, if we followed what Jesus taught it would mess everything up."  I suggested that it might mess things up for him and folks like him, but be a whole lot better for a lot of other folks.  I also asked him if he realized how powerful his statement was, reflecting how far away from the teachings we have come, in that to follow Him now would mean messing up the way we have made it.  He said that it is unrealistic now.  I believe we have become very adept as disassociating our way of living from the Lord we claim to follow.  Politicians run on platforms of Christian principles, but write laws that hurt and/or exploit the most vulnerable in our land and across the world.  Corporate Execs sit with their families in church on Sundays and hear the sermons, sing the praise, etc..  Then they actively work to make more money at the expense of those they lay off, fire, exploit or cheat, even by "legal" means, thinking that is not only right but good business.  In fact, the congregation president with whom I had that encounter discussed the practice of not hiring full time employees, but hiring more part time folks in order to avoid paying benefits, which he claimed is not unjust, but just good business - nothing personal.  That man was baptized, confirmed, married and would be buried in that church.  Life - long member...
I believe folks can do this, partly because they hear from the pulpit that God gives them favor, wants them to be rich, blesses them above others and wants only happiness for them.  We have come to believe it is all about "me and Jesus", that personal salvation is all that matters, and that I can do whatever I want otherwise and God is cool with it.  I must be reading four different Gospels.  How far we have come (from the teachings of Jesus)!  How far are you from what Jesus taught about living your life with others in the world?  Do you know what He commanded of you in the Gospels?  I encourage you to read the four Gospels, a relatively quick read, and pay attention to His imperative statements... WARNING, once you know, you know, and it may transform how you live... even "mess everything up"!  Much love, Jamie