50 Shades of Black and White

By Pastor Tim White

50 Shades of Grey is listed on the New York Times Best Seller list and has been for the last 52 weeks.  However, it is not the book we are recommending but we are responding to a world that teaches that there is neither a right nor wrong.  It is called moral relativism.  If you follow the arguments those who believe in moral relativism are tired of religious judgmentalism.  But are those the only two choices?  Do we let our children float free in a world that is producing more and more young people that get involved in murder, drug addiction, promiscuity, lying and addictive behavior that masks their God given potential?  Do we allow the grey world to paint us grey, putting our marriages at risk because there is really nothing wrong if everyone is doing it? 

I have been reading the book by Gene Klann entitled, Building Character : Strengthening the Heart of Good Leadership, his third book on the subject of building moral character.  Dr. Klann is an Army leader with seventeen medals for valor and fourteen for meritorious service; he has a PhD. a Masters and Diplomas from U.S. Army War College and NATO Defense College.  The book, based on a study by the Center for Creative Leadership, is a classic text book used in the new emerging doctoral field in leadership.  It is not a Christian book but it does recognize that moral character is essential in the task of preparing leaders. 

What I like about his approach is that it sounds a lot like our Lead Pastor, Dr. Rey Diaz, when he says, “Character is a verb.”  It means a change in behavior.  He points to a study by Harvard and US News and World Report that out of 1,374 people pooled, 73% responded that most leaders in the United States are out of touch with the average person, 58% felt their leaders cannot be trusted, and only 39% felt they have high ethical standards. According to Dr. Klann, this leadership deficit is due to lack of character development.

This month we enter a series that sounds almost out of place in our moral relativistic culture:  50 Shades of Black and White:  moments that forge great character in Bible heroes.  No, we are not becoming a religious judgmental organization.  We are simply followers of Jesus Christ finding a gracious way to help forge moral fiber in our lives and those for whom we love.   Every good mother sets about this task with their children, and next week we will look at three mothers in the Bible and how their world view is different from the popular position in our society.  We will be teaching a way to look at life the way God sees it and to be changed by our perceptions.

Last week during time Jackie and I spent time with our grandchildren, I took my granddaughter for a long walk on a beautiful day. She smiled as we talked to the squirrels and whistled to the birds.  I gave her a flower and she explored it with her feet.  I sang to her and she tried to sing along as I sang, “Isabela, Isabela, once I found a girl and called her Isabela, I love her so and one day the whole world will know her glory.  Isabela, Isabela.”  She fell asleep in my arms in the warmth of the day.  

Later, my grandson, Elijah, and I had so much fun playing tag together.  He is fast.  When I caught him he reached over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  I told Jackie, “Boy, he did not get that kind of sweetness from me!”  But I would do anything for every one of my children and grandchildren to develop strong, steel -like moral fiber in order to face the challenges of this world.  I want that to come from God, not from whatever is popular today. 

Don't miss this series on 50 Shades of Black and White.  This really will help us to forge strong families, a stronger church community and world changing lives.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim