Entitled or treasured?

"You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,

 in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts 

of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."  1 Peter2.9

It is easy to take this announcement and make it into a badge of honor.  It is easy to take the badge of honor and make it into a sign of worthiness.  It is easy to take the sign of worthiness and make it into a platform for pronouncements.  It is easy to use a platform to proclaim personal preferences.  It is easy to take personal preferences and make them criteria for inclusion/exclusion.

Thus God's chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation has slipped right down into the rabbit's hole of making humankind in its own image, it's own nation, it's own description of right and wrong.  All because God loved them and claimed them in the beginning.  Now God's own people are redefined into categories that are approved by the ones who call themselves chosen.

It takes about a 10 seconds for this process to be completed.  We find it so difficult to live into God's abundant love and grace, allowing it to transform us.  We find it almost impossible to actually live a life of love and grace when we work with others.

It shows up in all kinds of places.  There are unwritten rules about how folks should dress when they come to worship God.  There are unwritten rules about how loud to sing or whether to raise our hands when we pray.  There are social norms about the kind of sinfulness that is acceptable in our fellowship.  There are hidden barriers built around our fellowship to be sure to exclude 'the others.'

Then, of course, we also have the very public ways of excluding the current unacceptable ones.  In the 1980's it was those with HIV.  In the 1920's women were excluded from leadership.  In the 1950's race divided Sunday morning worship hours more effectively than Jim Crow.  In the 2000's, who are we excluding?  Who are we 'uncomfortable' with or, to be more direct, who do we think are not worthy to be in the presence of God while we are there? Because, in the end, that is what we are saying.  We know more than God about who to love in this world.

From God's great storehouse of love and grace God reaches out to us and calls us into a relationship of love and grace.  In the warmth of God's relationship we can blossom and be strengthened for a life of love and grace towards others.

It takes us about 10 seconds to confuse this with being in charge.