It's Tuesday!!!!! 20 days until school starts! 98 days until the Presidential election!! 147 days until Christmas and 153 days until 2013!!! But more importantly.....it's the day for Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!
34-36When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing the question they hoped would show him up: "Teacher, which command in God's
Law is the most important?"
37-40Jesus
said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and
intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But
there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love
yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the
Prophets hang from them." - Matthew 22: 34-40 The Message.
In 1967, The Beatles were at the pinnacle of success. They were on their way to becoming the best-selling act in music history. They pioneered many musical styles and assisted in the implementation of new thoughts regarding recording techniques. In June of that year, they debuted a song on the first-ever global television link. They were
charged with providing Britain's contribution to the Our World broadcast.
Many of the British Invasion's musical talents were part of the audience during the broadcast of "All You Need Is Love", a song that would reach #1 on the charts the week of July 17, 1967. It is featured on two Beatles' albums, 1967's Magical Mystery Tour and 1969's Yellow Submarine LP. Written by John Lennon....cue the screaming teenage girls....here is the Our World video of "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles.
In recent days there has been much debate over freedom of speech.
Specifically with regards to who and how you can love. Dan Cathy, CEO
of Chick-Fil-A, stated his personal opinion against homosexual unions.
For the record, The Notes agrees with Mr. Cathy's opinion. The Bible
says about homosexuality that it is "detestable" and "shameful"
(Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:27-29). However, Tuesday's Musical Notes does not agree with the reaction to his statements. The response has been filled with vitriol from those who advocate for this lifestyle as well as those who oppose it. The proponents of the lifestyle choice of homosexuality have called for a boycott of Chick-Fil-A. Mayors of major
United States cities, men who have sworn to uphold the national tenet of freedom of speech,
have forcefully voiced their opposition to the opening of Chick-Fil-A restaurants in their towns. On the flip side, The American Family
Association and other proFamily organizations have done no less by encouraging boycotts of The Walt Disney Company as well as Home Depot for the choice those companies made to favor the homosexual lifestyle in their business practices.
These
hateful opinions, again on both sides of the argument, are not how the
Bible dictates we should communicate with those with which we disagree.
We question the effectiveness of such boycotts to cause a change in these companies. However, we do not question the damage that is done to those whom Jesus said we should love more than ourselves. In a
previous employment experience, I was employed as manager of a store that was threatened by a boycott. When face to face with the leader of the group, I posed these questions: Would you punish the folks who are on the inside of this organization that are working to change the culture?
Would you inhibit a brother in Christ from being able to make money to provide for his family or jeopardize his ability to tithe? His response: What do we do then, when we disagree with the policy/product of a company? I quickly took him to the sections of the store where we sold merchandise he did support and told him to support those areas with all he could and encourage those who were wanting to boycott to do the same. Business would dictate that if more of one thing is sold than another, the other would be removed to make room for the better selling product. As Christian brothers we should support each other as best we can and thereby show our love. When we are faced with
situations/products/policies in which we disagree, our command is to
love the person, not the situation/product/policy.
In Matthew, Jesus was being tested by the Pharisees. a group of
Jewish leaders who followed oral Jewish law as well as the Torah. They were also proponents of an afterlife. They were attempting to get Jesus to prioritize one of the ten commandments, thereby causing Him to deny the importance of some which would have been blasphemy to the Jews.
Jesus simplifies the commandments for them instead. He summarizes that all ten can be based on the foundation of two: 1) Love God, and 2) Love others more than you do yourself.
The opening line of Rick Warren's iconic book, The Purpose Driven Life, states
these foundational commands in one sentence....."It's Not About You".
In this statement, Warren affirms what Jesus told us were the commandments of our lives. If the things of our life do not support both of these commands, we are sinning. ALL OF US. Anything that takes us away from loving God and loving others more than we do ourselves is sin. Time and again, we will be faced with making choices. The decisions we make during that time indicate who we love. Jesus was the ultimate example of following the two commandments as He endured the
worst torture ever devised by man so we could go to heaven.
Perhaps you have heard "there is a special place in hell for homosexuals". What baloney. The eternal separation from God that is hell is for all who will not repent, turn away, from the sin in their lives. We can only turn away from that sin that so easily plagues us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Is there something that is keeping you from loving God and loving others? Turn away from it and embrace Jesus. Allow the love you have for others to show Jesus' love to them and then be available if they ask why you are different. You can then show them that there is a different love that is all they need. "Love is all you need......love is all you need".
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy
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