“Tear
down this wall!”
These
words of Ronald Regan uttered in a speech at the Berlin Wall in 1987 have long
been remembered as a gauntlet thrown at the feet of Communism. In a few years
the Berlin Wall and a figurative wall known as “The Iron Curtain” both tumbled
into the ashes of history.
Walls
are built for many reasons, some are built to keep things in, others for protection
and still others to hide something from view.
Walls
can be constructed of soil, block, brick, mortar and stone. Yet some walls are
constructed in people’s hearts and minds. These are walls built of fear,
prejudice, ignorance and pride. These are the walls which are most often the
most impenetrable, especially for those who have something to hide.
Jesus
used the term “whitewashed tomb” and Paul similarly the term “whitewashed wall”
to describe people pride fully hiding behind a wall of religion the fact that
they were really not very religious.
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisee, hypocrites! For you are
like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they
are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear
righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27-28 NASB)
We all
struggle with issues of transparency. Prudence dictates that some things should
not be hung on the clothesline for the entire world to see. All of us have done
things we are not proud of. But those to whom Jesus spoke were involved in an
ongoing cover-up, trying to hide their spiritual bankruptcy behind a wall of
self-righteous tradition.
On the other
hand there are the overlooked walls built by those trying to protect themselves
from repeated abuse of others. Sometimes that abuse has come at the hands of
people claiming to be religious. I hear
them sometimes saying “I’m o.k. with God, it’s the church I have problems
with.” Their walls attempt to hide the bitterness, brokenness, resentfulness
and un-forgiveness as if to say nothing is wrong, God’s still working here. It’s
a cover up, hiding behind a wall.
Hiding
behind either wall is not healthy. Jesus response to those “religious people” who
crucified him was “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Jesus
response to the broken is “Blessed
are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute
you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)
None of us
is perfect . . . save One . . . the One who saved us.
Yet beyond
him we . . . especially we who claim to be Christians . . . must tear down walls
of self-righteousness, fear and pretension. We must replace them with bridges of honesty,
transparency and grace.
Then and
only then will we become the people God can use to touch those who are walking
in darkness, hiding behind their own hand hewed walls of fear or pretension.
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