A question for every Christian: Have you chosen the right camp?
By Dean Collins
Which camp are you in? It seems we are nearly forced to pick a side, a team, an ism of some sort and declare it publicly to make sure we are accepted and that our beliefs on all cultural topics are clear. There isn’t much wiggle room. Every topic demands that we choose a camp. And if we don’t, the keepers of the camp will declare our intentions for us, which usually means we are placed outside the camp.
Choosing a camp is not a particularly new phenomenon. It’s been a game of acceptance and orthodoxy since ancient times. But now we have the tools to broadcast our preferences and biases instantly and use technology to make sure we make sure it’s clear who is in or out. This is an ongoing task because the current cultural and even religious camp rules are constantly shifting.
Challenged by the camp
Mark gives us an example of an encounter with the Pharisees and Jesus that described two different camps. The Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted to know why Jesus’ disciples chose the camp of unwashed hands over their camp of proper ceremonial etiquette. The scene involved some scribes who came from Jerusalem and saw some of the disciples eating without first properly washing their hands. My grandsons sometimes avoid soap when washing their hands, but this was worse than that. The traditions of the Pharisees around handwashing and many other practices involved obedience to their additional, unwritten laws as equal to and evidence of the allegiance to God’s written laws.
Jesus quoted Isaiah as he challenged the camp of the ceremonial hand washers: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Jesus clarified the central issue of the camps: Are you obeying the commandments of God or the traditions of men?
Fit for the camp
The thing I’ve noticed in recent years is that in almost every sphere, we must align ourselves properly with certain camps to be politically correct, culturally relevant, or doctrinally fit. And I use the word fit intentionally. If you don’t align with the doctrine of a group, you will not be a good fit for friendship, inclusion, or consideration as one who gets it whatever it may be in a given moment.
I suspect we are moving more and more toward following the traditions of men over the kingdom of God. And the problem of following the traditions of men today is that traditions fall quickly and shift based on what is trending on social media in a given season. We tend to agree with other people’s opinions and quotes without even reading or thinking, let alone praying, about what was said. If the tagline seems clever and is tweeted by someone we know or like or was liked by someone we know, then we will just settle into whatever camp they represent.
Redeeming the camps
What we often forget is that Jesus came to earth to redeem all the camps. He died for the ceremonial hand-washing camp as well as the camp that sometimes forgot to scrub up and fix their shirttails before eating. Jesus summed up this encounter with the Pharisees by defining the two camps as whether they were clean and pure on the inside or on the outside. Here is a list of things Jesus mentioned that may reside inside us and make us unclean:
“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
Read and pray through the list slowly. It would be easy to see some of the headline sins included here and determine all is good. But if you sit with this list in quiet with the Holy Spirit, I suspect you will agree with me that there are, in fact, at least blemishes and probably some heavier residue of sin left unattended in your heart.
Maybe in the mind of Jesus there is only one camp and it is filled with sinners in need of cleansing and transformation. The good news is that Jesus is capable of taking care of both.
Our permanent camp
A final thought about choosing which camp to be a part of as you navigate life. Why not choose the camp of those who choose to follow Jesus. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that this world isn’t really our permanent camp. It’s temporary as all camps are, I suppose. Scripture says it this way:
“So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
While we are camping with Jesus and spreading the good news of the kingdom of Heaven maybe our best approach is to offer a sacrifice of praise to God and never neglect to do the good of sharing what we have and who we know with anyone and everyone, regardless of the political, ideological, and social camps where they find their identity. When we love as Jesus does, we might just see a growing number of temporary campers on their way with us to our real home in Heaven.
Your time with God’s Word
Mark 7:1-8, 21-23; Hebrews 13:12-16 ESV
Photo by fauxels at Pexels
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