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The Outback Steakhouse is one of
my favorite occasional places to eat—probably because of that
deliciously super-sinful high cholesterol high fat bloomin’
onion! But it’s their slogan that intrigues me: “No rules,
just right.”
I don’t think it’s a bad slogan
(correctly understood) for the New Year. No rules, just doing
what is right. No rules, just a lived righteousness. No rules,
just right living.
Jesus gave some powerful hints
in this direction: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’
will enter the Kingdom, but the one who does the will of my
father.” Or, “Except your righteousness (your right living)
exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees you have no place in
the kingdom.” Or, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and
does them will be like a wise person who builds their house
upon a rock. And the rains come and the winds blow, and beat
upon that house, but the house stands.”
We hear a lot about “values”
today. We hear about moral values, or family values. Values
may have influenced the recent and very close presidential
election.
I can’t help wondering—does God
want values from us? Or does God want virtues? What’s the
difference? Here are the definitions. Value: the
relative merit or importance of something. Virtue:
moral excellence, goodness, righteousness, conformity of one’s
life to moral/ethical principles.
In other words, what counts is
not how we think, but how we do the best and the right thing.
Listen to some collected recent
quotations to illustrate what others are thinking on this same
point.
·
The lead editorial
from the Christian Century on November 30, 2004 wrote this:
“What matters most are not values, but virtues. Values
may be cited in an answer to a pollster; virtues are
displayed through lives of conviction sustained over time.”
·
Here’s another
article from the same magazine this past fall: “If our
foundation of radical commitment is love for God and others,
we live as God would have us live. And if we practice the
disciplines in order to deepen our love for God and others, we
live as God would have us live.”
·
Or a writer from
Northern Minnesota: “I live in a very rural area of
northern Minnesota. These are good people. If someone in the
area suffers a setback, like a fire or an illness or a death
in the family, these people step up to help. They provide
food, clothing, cash assistance, a place to stay, a
car—whatever the suffering family needs to get back on its
feet. These are liberal ideas put into action. However, they
would never consider themselves liberal—in fact, they would be
offended by that label. We have to… make them see that the way
they live their daily lives is closely aligned with
progressive ideals.
·
Finally, an
article by Anna Quindlen from a recent Newsweek magazine. She
was commenting about the noisy discussion concerning “Merry
Christmas” versus “Happy Holidays” over recent weeks. She said
the real issue is: “An interior process of considering the
lessons that the Child in the manger would teach us once he
was grown.” Then she adds this: “It is the ultimate
exercise of style over substance to whine about the absence of
“O Holy Night” at public events. The real point is in taking
the lyrics to heart: ‘Truly he taught us to love one another;
His law is love and his gospel is peace.’” (Newsweek
12/27/04-1/3/05, p. 139)
This may be an important
principle for us to carry into the New Year. I am not called
to live by rules, but by right living displayed. Right living
displayed when I rise from my bed each new day. Right living
displayed when I walk or drive my car. Right living displayed
where I work. Right living displayed in my retirement
endeavors. Right living displayed in how I respond to the
tragedy in southeast Asia. Jesus said, “Let your light so
shine that others may see and give glory to God.”
This is part of the reason why
Covenant Discipleship has been important to me over these
years. This is why there is a brochure in your worship guide
today. This is why there is an invitation for you to take up
Covenant Discipleship in 2005.
In Covenant Discipleship, living
right, living virtues require some suggested guidelines.
Living right requires some discipline and support. Living
right means some gentle accountability with others. Living
right is beneficial, energizing work every new day.
Is the Bible a book of rules? Or
is the Bible a book of virtues? Does not the Bible illustrate
acts of kindness and compassion? Are these not the things that
define a life?
No rules. Just right. Living
right. This is the way into the New Year of 2005. And to that
end we covenant together today. To that end we come in humble
access to the Lord’s Table. To that end we pray, “Lord, help
me to live right, according to the highest and the best that
you have shown.” |
