Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a Tax Collector. Luke 18:10 (NIV)

Wrong Team, Right Team – Us vs Them Series – Part 1

Go to  PART 1  |  PART 2  |  PART 3  |  PART 4  |  PART 5  |  PART 6

There’s an “Us versus Them” mentality that permeates the world. It may not always be obvious; it hides beneath the surface of things and lurks in the corners. It comes up behind us and whispers in our ears, “If you’re right, they are wrong.” It thrives on absolutes and differences. Dualistic in nature, there must be a winner and a loser to every circumstance, and of course, we all want to be the winner. In its most aggressive manifestation, “us versus them” will do whatever it takes to win.

Whatever it takes.

We can see this especially on our news channels and social media. There are so many articles and stories and ideas circulating about who is right and who is wrong and what we should and shouldn’t do, to the point where many voices suggest that those NOT on the same side as they are, are worse than lost. The arguments get more aggressive and violent and exclusive the more they are circulated.

But is it that simple? Is life black and white? A right side and a wrong side? Dualistic by nature?

In Luke, Jesus told a parable about a Pharisee and a Tax Collector. He said, “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14.

Being part of its modern audience, when I’ve read this parable in the past, I’ve thought, “Pharisees were bigoted morons… How could they judge someone coming to pray and offer their lives up to God? That Pharisee was wrong and I’m right. On the two opposing sides of the fence of life, I’m the one on the right side.”

But maybe there’s more to the story… Jesus first-century Jewish audience would have heard this parable a little differently to us modern folk.

Jesus told this story to a group of people who he knew were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else. The verses before and after this parable indicate that he’s probably not talking with those in opposition to him, but his own followers and disciples.

Hang on, WHAT?

This parable digs around in my own “us versus them” culture leftovers right at the beginning! It’s so easy to identify yourself with being part of the crowd that has all the answers; THE group THAT IS right.

But that’s right isn’t it? Those of us who call Jesus “Lord” are on the right team and those who don’t are on the wrong team, yes? But then, once you’re “saved,” the argument becomes about which denomination, or style, or sect, or brand of Christianity is right and which ones (and which people) are wrong. When I was a teenager, our Church told our local council that it would not perform at the community Christmas Carols if we had to share the stage with the Church down the road who believed different things than we did.

If this is our attitude, we are missing the point.

Thomas Merton said,

“The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them.”

Over to you.

How is it, that you fall into the trap of “us versus them” mentality without realising it? Leave us a comment below.

Go to Part 2 – Jesus Audience »

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