William Petruzzo

It seems that the Lord is impressing the concept of humility on me this morning. Perhaps not a concept, but a radical need. It is easy to slip into smug, self-righteous, judgmental assumptions of self, others and circumstances. It is very easy. What is not easy is looking out from inside those smug, self-righteous, judgmental assumptions and see that they are smug, self-righteous and judgmental. Wrapped up inside such a blanket, self-justification of thoughts and actions is far more pleasing—and far easier.

But, the Lord gently and graciously speaks to our hearts—often times, even when we don’t mean to listen. I read this morning in John 17, Jesus begins the “High Priestly Prayer”. I actually get to read the Saviors prayers for me. Not in a general sense, but personally. He prays for those who the father has given him—that’s us, that’s believers. What could be more humbling that hearing the Savior’s prayers for those elected by Grace, unto salvation?

Tim Keller writes this, in The Reason for God:

“Sin and evil are self-centeredness and pride that lead to oppression against others, but there are two forms of this. One for is being very bad and breaking all the rules, and the other form is being very good and keeping all the rules and becoming self-righteous…If you are avoiding sin and living morally so that God will have to bless you and save you, then ironically you may be looking to Jesus as a teacher, model and helper but you are avoiding him as a savior.”

What really is that smug, self-righteousness that quietly slips in when we let our guard down? What is it really? It’s the very sin Keller is talking about here. It’s a slap in Jesus’ face. It’s saying, “I’m good enough”. It’s as good as saying, “Jesus, you’re a great teacher, but I’ve got it”. We forget that we were not saved because of how good we were. We forget that we were not chosen because of our good doctrine, great understanding or moral uprightness.

We, instead, understand that we are saved by the gracious wisdom and kindness of our God. It’s a massive logical contradiction to look condemningly on others when we were spared the Lord’s piercing stare for the same exact thing!

Keller continues later on the same concept, talking about the difference between being motivated by grace and being motivated by self-righteousness:

“Another difference [between the two motivations] has to do with our identity and self-regard. In a religious framework, if you feel you are living up to your chose religious standards, then you feel superior and disdainful toward those who are not following in the true path. This is true whether your religion is of a more liberal variety (in which case you you will feel superior to bigots and narrow minded people) or of a more conservative variety (in which case you will feel superior to the less moral and devout).”

Keller is right. When the heart of the Gospel—grace unto salvation, through the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ—is lost sight of, then self-righteousness is the only viable option. And, it seems the inverse would also be true. If I feel smug, self-righteous and judgmental, there’s a very good chance I’ve lost my view of the Gospel.

So, I feel humbled this morning—reminded that it was the perfect work of my Redeemer that I am privy to this great salvation. I should not, cannot, assume superiority and when I do, I forget the very foundation of that perceived “superiority”—which is of course no superiority at all.

To round it off, I find this in the prayers of the Puritans:

“Sin’s deformity is stamped upon me, darkens my brow, touches me with corruption: How can I flaunt proudly?… [When] I fall,  let me hide in my Redeemer’s righteousness… Keep me humble. Keep me meek. Keep me Lowly.

A Parable

Imagine that there were ten men in two groups, and they were all enslaved to a third group of men. There were five in one group and five in the other and five in the group that owned them. They were to do everything they were told and if at any time the owners were dissatisfied with the men, they could exercise their rights over their property and dispose of them.

One day, a man from among the slaves rose up with great charisma and a powerful argument. The owners were moved and convicted by this charismatic leader and they freed all five members of that man’s group. The group, now free and satisfied with their own freedom turned a cold cheek to the other five men still in bondage. And, to the charismatic leader’s dismay, in time, they themselves became slave-masters.

A Double Standard

I read in the newspaper today a commentary on Obama’s intentions to sign the Freedom of Choice Act and the strange irony that it presents.

Less than 150 years ago African-Americans were still being held as property. Less than 40 years ago, there was still legislated separation between blacks and white. Now, in just a few short (compared to the whole human timeline) decades, we have a officially elected a black president. This is a profound moment in American history. And, in many ways, and on many, it is a great grace from God, overcoming sin in a fallen world.

But, the president chosen, who has personally and directly benefitted from a fight against unjust laws of slavery, segregation and discrimination, stands passionately by another legislation that ensures millions of people continue to be treated as property.

Therein lies both a philosophical problem, a logical problem and a double standard.

Indeed, no person should have the right to enslave another. No white man should ever have the freedom to own a black man. Nor should a black man have the freedom to own a Hispanic man. Or a Hispanic man, a white man. Much less should they have the freedom to dispose of them as property who no longer desired. While we would affirm these things strongly, and our president probably even more strongly, yet he, and many, affirm the right to dispose of unwanted children.

If children indeed should be treated as property and their owners should have the freedom to dispose of them for convenience sake, then why is it so passionately affirmed that the African slave trade was an evil—or the modern sex trade, for that matter. After all, these things made many lives much easier.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, Alveda King, said it like this:

“The battle for equal rights has reached a major milestone [with the election of Barack Obama], but Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream of full equality remains just a dream as long as unborn children continue to be treated no better than property…”

A Conclusion

I’m finding a more tender heart these days for the unborn; the helpless, those who truly cannot defend themselves. We should:

…Pray for President Barack Obama, that God would have mercy on him and his heart would be softened and changed. 
…Pray that God would stay the hand of our government from passing into law the Freedom of Choice Act.
…Pray that God would have mercy on the millions of unborn at stake.

…Pray that God would have mercy on our nation that loves comfort and convenience, literally, more than life itself.

You know the old song:

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

By today’s standards, song is definitely on the cheesier side of things, but the sentiment is unmistakably good. “They”, the unbelievers in the world, “will know”, without a doubt, “we are Christians”, our primary defining trait, “by our love”. Good, yes? Nearly all Christian churches acknowledge this. Most contemporary churches make extra efforts and go way out of the way to be loving toward outsiders. This is a good thing, don’t get me wrong.

However, while the sentiment in the song makes no mistake, for most communities, most of the point seems to have gotten lost somewhere along the way.

The main thrust of the song comes from John 13:34-35:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

When Jesus says that people will know we are Christians by our love, there is no ambiguity in his meaning. He means that people of all kinds, will know a believer when they see one because of the love they show for other believers.

We hear many teachings about being the salt of the earth, not hiding our lights under a basket, and being a light set on a hill. Often, this idea is equated to loving unbelievers unashamedly—that’s good, and part of it. But Jesus makes clear that the real tell is in our love for each other. How does the church love its own? Do we betray, backstab, gossip, and abandon? Or, do you encourage, uphold, strengthen and support each other?

It seems that more often than not our communities are the former, rather than the latter. I think that I would like to see us become that change. That in our communities, the world would know we are disciples of Christ, not just because we pay for the cheeseburger or offer a ride home, because of the deep and unmistakable love we have for each other.

I spent the day today in Washington, DC. I was there expressly for the purpose of photographing the major event “The Call”.

The event called sought to gather thousands of young adults together for a day of mourning, fasting, repentance and prayer for the sake of our nation. The event also had an extremely heavy emphasis on abortion issues.

The event was hosted by folks from several churches, but most notably IHOP (International House of Prayer) in Kansas City and Morning Star down in North Carolina.

If you’re at all familiar with Morning Star or IHOP, you know they’re part of, what I call, the hyper-charismatic church. Not a criticism, just trying to get you into today’s environment a bit.

The crowd however was surprisingly diverse. There were folks there from what seemed to be nearly every denomination I can think of. Even the strange ones with dress codes.

Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about the event. I’m torn because of what seems clear to be questionable theology amongst the hosting organizations and much of their execution of the event. However, there were many on the Washington DC mall that were genuinely interceding and fasting on behalf of our nation and the unborn. So, in that respect, I’m encouraged.

I won’t go into the specifics of my theological questions. I’m just not sure how important it is.

Keep an eye on my professional website over the next couple days. I’ll be posting an introduction to the photographs from today as well as a large number of them.