“Making Bad People Good and Good People Nice”

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:1-12 ESV). I want to talk to you about the most dangerous thing in the world. It's not bad theology, it's not bad doctrine, and it's not the religious fundamental right or the liberal left. The most dangerous thing in the world is religion. In Ireland you can kill a Catholic for Jesus. In the Middle East you can bomb a church in the name of God. In India you can worship a cow, while a child dies of starvation. In the Sudan you can create a slave for Allah. In America you can kill a baby, blaspheme in the name of freedom, or hate a homosexual in the name of Christ. Peter Berger has said that the Swedes are the most atheistic unreligious people in the world. And in India we find the most religions of all nations. He said, "In America we are a nation ruled by Swedes and we're a bunch of Indians. The problem is that the Swedes bow in the name of God as a mantra to get votes." The prayer of the little boy makes the point. "Lord can you make all the bad people good and could you please make all the good people nice?" It's very hard to be right and nice at the same time. It’s not always bad to be wrong. It's very hard to be righteous and real at the same time. You should see your sin and any righteousness you have you should be unaware of it. It's very hard to be successful and godly at the same time. That's why it’s not always bad to fail. Garrison Keillor tells about a man in Lake Woebegon who was a drunk. Everybody liked him OK. He was a nice drunk and he went to AA. When he got sober they found out he was a jerk. And there was no 12-step program for jerks. It's very hard to be known as a Christian at work, or in the pulpit, the classroom, and at a church meeting, and be poor in spirit at the same time. Often it's more dangerous to be right than to be wrong because the downside of truth is truth's perversion. There is an observable and inverse correlation between true religion and necessary repentance. Don’t be too religious! Pray that God would make the bad people good and the good people nice… including yourself!