Kingdom Values
According to the University of Waterloo, Canadians value components such as fairness, inclusion, democracy, economic security, safety, sustainability, diversity, equity and health (Canadian Index of Well Being).
The last week in the news was a tough stretch for our Liberal government with failed NAFTA talks and bungled paperwork on a billion dollar pipeline our nation collectively owns. In spite of the "diversity is strength" slogan emblazoned on web pages and t-shirts, our citizens comprising of different geographical regions, ethnicity, cultures, religions, genders and sexual orientations are struggling to get along. Political pundits of red, blue, orange and green are calling foul for various reasons. Forget about baby bear's "just right" porridge. It's too right for some. And too left for others. Thus, the populous is lighting up Twitter and YouTube with honest (and not so honest) questions about fairness, inclusion, democracy, economic security, safety, sustainability, diversity, equity and health. It will be a rocky (ugly?) year to the next election.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
My quest to better understand the Kingdom of Heaven has led me to Matthew chapter 5 and the Beatitudes. Beatitudes mean "supreme blessedness." It can be viewed as the act of being made holy by divine favour. We begin with "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Poor in spirit. Poor! Not rich and affluent in spirit. Not experiencing spiritual "economic security." Rather, the expression implies being devoid of pride and full of humility. It means repentance and resignation to God's Will. It posits the voluntary act of giving up one's rights to embrace a kingdom that may not seem fair by our secular standards.
The Kingdom of Heaven is not a democracy. It is a ruled by a supreme monarch who is perfectly benevolent and perfectly just. It is a kingdom that transcends time and space. It is here, and now, in the hearts of those who choose to follow Christ. It is in the world to come, when this earth passes away and heaven becomes a physical place. The Kingdom of Heaven is filled with values expressed by the Beatitudes: spiritual poverty, mourning, meekness, a hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking and standing up for truth (even if persecuted). Many of these values are earthly realities, signposts of the change that has occurred in our hearts because of repentance. While others, such as purity of heart, will finally reach its perfect culmination when the work of sanctification is completed on heaven's shores.
Truthfully, kingdom values run counter-intuitive to several of our Canadian values. Canada desires safety and health. Yet, standing up for truth may result in being the recipient of belligerence which can very well effect one's mental health. Our nation celebrates diversity and inclusion. We aim to co-exist with our heterogeneous neighbors in peace and privacy, hoping our individual pursuit of happiness do not create flash-points of contention. Contrary, the Kingdom of Heaven asks us to be unified in our sadness. We must collectively and individually mourn for missing the divine mark.
The Kingdom of Heaven asks us to sacrifice the now to gain greater things later. Be poor, give up your rich self-righteousness. Mourn, let go of earthly happiness. Live meekly, surrender your rights. Hunger and thirst for the spiritual, not the temporal. Crave purity, not licentiousness. Be agents of deep-down-in-one's-soul peace, not political peace. Accept persecution for what is right instead of questioning consequences for what is wrong. So what do you gain? The Kingdom of Heaven. Soul Comfort. Inheritance. Real Satisfaction. Mercy. Seeing God. Being a Child of God. And yes! The Kingdom of Heaven.
And the fantastic thing about all of this? These kingdom values will not change election to election. They are eternal, now and forever. These values will not swing politically left or right. They will remain absolutely true.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
The last week in the news was a tough stretch for our Liberal government with failed NAFTA talks and bungled paperwork on a billion dollar pipeline our nation collectively owns. In spite of the "diversity is strength" slogan emblazoned on web pages and t-shirts, our citizens comprising of different geographical regions, ethnicity, cultures, religions, genders and sexual orientations are struggling to get along. Political pundits of red, blue, orange and green are calling foul for various reasons. Forget about baby bear's "just right" porridge. It's too right for some. And too left for others. Thus, the populous is lighting up Twitter and YouTube with honest (and not so honest) questions about fairness, inclusion, democracy, economic security, safety, sustainability, diversity, equity and health. It will be a rocky (ugly?) year to the next election.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
My quest to better understand the Kingdom of Heaven has led me to Matthew chapter 5 and the Beatitudes. Beatitudes mean "supreme blessedness." It can be viewed as the act of being made holy by divine favour. We begin with "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Poor in spirit. Poor! Not rich and affluent in spirit. Not experiencing spiritual "economic security." Rather, the expression implies being devoid of pride and full of humility. It means repentance and resignation to God's Will. It posits the voluntary act of giving up one's rights to embrace a kingdom that may not seem fair by our secular standards.
The Kingdom of Heaven is not a democracy. It is a ruled by a supreme monarch who is perfectly benevolent and perfectly just. It is a kingdom that transcends time and space. It is here, and now, in the hearts of those who choose to follow Christ. It is in the world to come, when this earth passes away and heaven becomes a physical place. The Kingdom of Heaven is filled with values expressed by the Beatitudes: spiritual poverty, mourning, meekness, a hunger and thirst for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking and standing up for truth (even if persecuted). Many of these values are earthly realities, signposts of the change that has occurred in our hearts because of repentance. While others, such as purity of heart, will finally reach its perfect culmination when the work of sanctification is completed on heaven's shores.
Truthfully, kingdom values run counter-intuitive to several of our Canadian values. Canada desires safety and health. Yet, standing up for truth may result in being the recipient of belligerence which can very well effect one's mental health. Our nation celebrates diversity and inclusion. We aim to co-exist with our heterogeneous neighbors in peace and privacy, hoping our individual pursuit of happiness do not create flash-points of contention. Contrary, the Kingdom of Heaven asks us to be unified in our sadness. We must collectively and individually mourn for missing the divine mark.
The Kingdom of Heaven asks us to sacrifice the now to gain greater things later. Be poor, give up your rich self-righteousness. Mourn, let go of earthly happiness. Live meekly, surrender your rights. Hunger and thirst for the spiritual, not the temporal. Crave purity, not licentiousness. Be agents of deep-down-in-one's-soul peace, not political peace. Accept persecution for what is right instead of questioning consequences for what is wrong. So what do you gain? The Kingdom of Heaven. Soul Comfort. Inheritance. Real Satisfaction. Mercy. Seeing God. Being a Child of God. And yes! The Kingdom of Heaven.
And the fantastic thing about all of this? These kingdom values will not change election to election. They are eternal, now and forever. These values will not swing politically left or right. They will remain absolutely true.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33