On Being Square

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:48

In the last post we talked about the problem of good being in the world.  How is it that we determine good?  We know that someone like our current president has said that, for him, sin is doing something not in alignment with his own values.  Virtue for such a person might be summed up by the Shakespearean edict “to thine own self be true.”  We acknowledge the need to be honest and straightforward, that deception is wrong at all levels.  The full quote from Hamlet says, “This above all:  to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”  There is virtue in this, but it is not a virtue much practiced by politicians, including Mr. Obama.  You might recall how quickly in 2008 Obama discounted and abandoned his mentor and surrogate father, Jeremiah Wright, when Wright’s sermons and utterances became too embarrassing to his campaign.  Wright even somewhat graciously recognized the need for duplicity in the political realm saying that Obama had to denounce him to win the election.  Was that a sin by Obama’s standard?  Or is that merely a reflection of his values? 

When we compare ourselves to ourselves, we find that our measurements are less than reliable.  A psychopath or sociopath can be “true” to himself.  Pol Pot, Mao, Che, Stalin, even Hitler may well have never sinned by their own subjective standards.  Did you ever try to measure something by holding your hands apart?  It might do in a general sense – you can probably accurately ascertain that your new Boxer will not be able to use the Yorkie’s old carrier, or that when they said the Prius seats five, they did not envision five NFL offensive linemen.    

It is hardly surprising to find that we deceive or attempt to deceive ourselves and others.  I think it is more surprising to see how much energy, psychic or otherwise, we invest in justifying or camouflaging our attempts.  It is almost as if we know instinctively that something is out of plumb -- as if we can somewhere, somehow perceive an objective standard of truthfulness, righteousness, and perfection which we know we are violating. 

Now, there are going to be some people who say that these are instilled into us by family and community, by our education.  I’m sure this must be partially true, for a child raised under inhuman conditions will be inhuman.   Yet we are not merely products of our environment.  We are born with potentials that can be shaped and guided or thwarted and perverted.  Again, that there are and have been cultures and societies that deviate and have deviated from the Absolute should not surprise anyone.  The astounding thing is that we are able to perceive those deviations. 

I refer to this passage frequently but that’s because it seems so profound to me:   Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.  (Hebrews 1:1-3)

If we look at Jesus we see the perfection of God framed and defined in human flesh.  The Incarnation is the ultimate – so far – Revelation.   

It is certainly no easier to be perfect than it is to set a post plumb.  One of the reasons is that a post, like a human, generally has a few crooks and warps and twists you have to work through in order to get it straight -- as you might say, overall.  What we cannot do is accommodate our crookedness and say that we are merely being true to ourselves.  We cannot look at the post planted in the next hole and say that we are pretty straight compared to it.   

Unlike a breathing, mobile human, obviously, a post is a piece of dead wood.  While you and I may have some dead flesh that needs trimming, some overgrowth that needs pruning, we are still living and malleable, still capable of being formed and shaped toward “true and square”, toward perfection.  And we can see where we miss it.  We can know that we were we are not precisely on the level because we have something -- SomeOne by Whom we may measure and compare, Jesus Christ -- the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Look upon the tested, tried, and true Cornerstone.    

[T]herefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid 1 as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:  ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’   And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”  (Isaiah 28:16-17)

Putting Shame In Its Place

A few people may remember the 1960’s. It is hard to believe that a child born to a hippie or two in 1970 would now be the mythical thirtysomething and approaching middle age.

I remember the sixties and even the fifties. Back in those ancient days it was common to hear parents say to a child: “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” Used in a healthy way by normal parents this meant that the child had done something beneath him or her as a person. If I refused to share a toy, for example, I had done something worthy of shame. I am not interested in going into all the complexities, subtleties, or metaphysics of shame versus conscience versus guilt. Firmly believing that humans are first and foremost spiritual beings, I am convinced that the Creator built a conscience into us just as sure my Chevy trucks all came with thermostats. For my purposes I am just going to talk about shame and you can figure out the rest of it. No doubt the conscience or the sense of shame can be perverted, darkened or scarred to the point it is useless or misleading. People brought up in dysfunctional environments may feel shame at things that aren’t really shameful, or they may feel shame at nothing.

I am not sure when it started, but personal shame has definitely gone out of fashion. No one illustrates this more clearly than the former impeached president, Bill Clinton. If his conscience had been a barking dog, Clinton would have taken it out behind the barn and shot it while claiming it was a chicken-killer. He was apparently never ashamed of anything he had ever done, from betraying his country to cheating on his wife. Mr. Obama’s shameless lies and misdirection reflect the same sort of mindset. Shame’s demise can also be verified in the slobbering abandonment of credibility by Big Media, the lyrics of popular music, daytime soap operas, “reality” shows, the NBA, and baseball, to name but a few offenders.

In fact, according the leftist intellectuals, shame should be relegated to what other people have done, particularly those who used to be thought of as role models or heroes. We are told that we should be ashamed of men like Washington and Jefferson because they owned slaves. Sometimes the academics just play it safe and say we should be ashamed of every historical figure that was a white, heterosexual male – especially if he happened to be a Christian.

Conversely, we should not in any way be ashamed of sexual promiscuity, adultery, diverse and sundry perversions, dishonor, dishonesty, deception, laziness, cowardice, rudeness, and ingratitude. Other things to be ashamed of would include having a strong military, earned wealth, private property, profit, a traditional two-parent family, and patriotism. Additionally, those of us in red states should be ashamed of voting for people who share our religious and moral values.

Perhaps our most shameful trait, though, is our lack of tortuous self-doubt. If there is one thing above all that keeps me from joining the rarified ranks of the true intellectual elite it is my willingness to make a decision and live with it. One of the favorite barbs aimed at George Bush was that he was obviously not intelligent because he was too sure of himself. He made decisions and stuck by them. He should be ashamed. He should apologize for all his mistakes so that the rest of the world will respect us. How many times did reporters and pundits ask a variation of the question, “What was your worst mistake?” Now, of course, one of Obama’s great strengths is his cool confidence. What a difference a letter makes.

Liberals are proud of their willingness to listen to both sides – unless one side is Christian or moral or ethical. They always understand the motivations of the slacker, the criminal (as long as he or she is from an oppressed minority group), the international terrorist, or the socialist despot. For these enlightened folks it is never good versus evil. It is always degrees of goodness. Understanding will always solve the problem. This is why it is now safe to reduce troop strength in Iraq and dialog with the Holocaust deniers in Iran and Syria. Yes, Hamas wants to wipe Israel off the map, but that’s not a problem because all the Jews have to do is convert to Islam and give up their identity in order to have peace. We can work it out.

I think that is the real problem liberals have with Christianity. If only Jesus had not made that exclusionary statement about being the Way, the Truth and the Life. If only He had said, “a way”, as in “many paths, one light.” Of course this can only be the view of a person who has the luxury of believing that truth is neither absolute nor singular. The sophisticated, cosmopolitan Pilate could ask, “What is truth?” That question did not occur to the thief dying on the neighboring cross. It is all well and good for the academics and the social engineers to debate, dissent or even dissemble, to theorize or to simulate. Let the politicians posture. I have to live and die. I cannot afford to be wrong.

For me, a well-developed sense of shame is quite useful. It curbs my insufferable genetic arrogance. It encourages me to keep my word to everyone, from my wife to the waiter at a Mexican restaurant to my employer. Still, I have to be careful because it can be used against me. I have been shamed into doing things I knew were not right. Shame is not infallible and cannot be trusted in isolation. It has to be informed by reason and by principle. No one, not my wife, the waiter, my boss, or liberals in general, should be able to shame me into accepting wrong or doing wrong.

What am I ashamed of? I am ashamed of every convenient lie I ever told. I am ashamed of not being prouder of my parents when I was younger. I am ashamed of being petty, ungrateful, and inconsiderate. I am ashamed of my moral cowardice. I am ashamed of the times I have laughed at a crude joke told at someone else’s expense, and of the times I joined with the crowd in being cynical about truth, righteousness, holiness, and beauty.

Unfortunately, I could easily go on, but you get the idea.

On the other side, I am not ashamed of America, the flag, or the American military. I am not ashamed of the Constitution. I am not ashamed to say that I believe America is the greatest nation on earth, that our civilization, our faith, and our values are better than any other. I am not ashamed of my ancestors, my name, the color of my eyes or the color of my skin, and I am not ashamed to say that I think everybody should be proud of who they are and where they have come from. I am not ashamed of believing in Jesus, or of believing the Bible. I am not ashamed of having a work ethic, or having more or less than somebody else. I am not ashamed that I believe some things are right and some things are wrong. I am not ashamed of being a man, or of treating women as if they were ladies.

I am not ashamed to say that if you want to live in this country, you should respect our laws, our culture and our traditions. Come here legally and learn to speak English, and I will welcome you with open arms.

I am not ashamed to say that actors, athletes, musicians, rappers and others who advocate or model violence and evil, who call women whores and bitches, who glamorize crime, perversion, and drugs are not cutting edge artists exercising their First Amendment rights, but worthless scum who are just out for easy money and a nice life.

I am not ashamed to say that a woman’s “choice” should begin with keeping her legs together, and that if you behave like a cat in heat you should not expect to avoid the consequences or make the innocent pay.

I am not ashamed to call radical Muslims, Marxists, progressives, or socialists the fascists they are.

I am not ashamed to say that I smile every time a missile strike wipes out a few of the throat-slitting cowardly thugs who hide behind women and children to do their vile deeds.

I am not ashamed to say that anyone who thinks there is moral equivalence between Al Qaeda terrorists targeting the innocent and American servicemen targeting Al Qaeda terrorists is the kind of person who gives idiots a bad name. The same applies to anyone who thinks Israeli air strikes against terrorists in Gaza or wherever are no different than Hamas and Hezbollah lobbing rockets or sending suicide bombers into restaurants.

I am not ashamed to say that if you can’t do basic arithmetic, you should buy a calculator, but you should not expect me to pick up the tab for your irresponsible behavior.

I am not ashamed to say that if you don’t work, you don’t need to eat – and you certainly don’t need to get paid for having babies.

I am not ashamed to say that any government that is afraid of its law-abiding citizens owning the same weapons as the military probably needs to be afraid.