Protesters Stand with Jesus?

To be honest, I haven't given much thought to this so-called protest movement called Occupy Wall Street. To me, it just seems to be another flavor-of-the-month rally that attracts mostly those who want to rail against capitalism, rich people, and government. In the past, such protests usually include elements and/or organizations with Marxist or socialist agendas, and thus are typically less likely to include those who truly hail from freedom-loving America. Generally speaking, folks have the right to protest in the name of whatever they choose, and whether I agree with them or not, I can live and let live.

But there are those who, if you'll pardon the irony, try to capitalize on the opportunity presented when a bunch of easily impressionable people take to the streets to protest. Far too many of these protesters are out there, without any reason or principle driving them other than it seems like a cool thing to do. These people rail on about things they don't understand, chanting phrases and slogans from the 60's, and issuing demands for whatever it is they feel entitled to. And that is the essential element: entitlement. Demands for free college education, demands for jobs, demands for free health insurance, demands to tax the rich guy, demands for fairness; all these are ripe for manipulation by socialists and Marxists. The political left considers Occupy Wall Street a legitimate uprising, while the Tea Party (which has been far more demonstrably civil and representative, in my opinion, of the American middle) is labeled as extremist. But again, if people want to be pawns, that's their choice. Live and let live.

Where I do get some heartburn, however, is when those elements of the Church who lean heavily on liberation theology attempt to imply that protest movements like Occupy Wall Street "stand with Jesus." Jim Wallis, posting at Sojourners, serves as an example. (Sojourners is a publication group formed in 1971 to "articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world." I read their material every now and then, although I rarely find myself in full agreement.)

In a recent post, Mr. Wallis wrote the following:

We will likely see images and hear things from Occupy Wall Street demonstrators that will offend us and some that will inspire.

We’ll hear demands that we agree with and some that we don’t.

And that’s OK.

The Occupy Wall Street protests make some people nervous, while others scratch their heads, and more than a few grab their sleeping bags and join in.

There is a lot of speculation as to who the "Occupiers" are and what they might accomplish. There is much I still don’t know about the movement, but undeniably it has caught the imagination of a generation -- and that matters.

Here are a few things I do know about the Occupy Wall Street protesters:

When they stand with the poor, they stand with Jesus.

When they stand with the hungry, they stand with Jesus.

When they stand for those without a job or a home, they stand with Jesus.

When they are peaceful, nonviolent, and love their neighbors (even the ones they don’t agree with and who don’t agree with them), they are walking as Jesus walked.

When they talk about holding banks and corporations accountable, they sound like Jesus and the biblical prophets before him, who all spoke about holding the wealthy and powerful accountable.

Pray for those out on the streets.

Where to begin? First, Jesus did not come to this planet to provide a path to social justice. He came to save sinners from eternal separation from God Almighty, to provide a path to redemption and sanctification and everlasting life. Jesus did not take to the streets to protest governments, or demand entitlements from Rome for His chosen people, Israel. There is only one type of person who can "stand with Jesus" - the one who professes Jesus Christ as Lord, descended from Heaven, risen from the dead.

The one who "stands with the poor" does not necessarily stand with Jesus. What good does it do for us to take to the streets with our wallets, our cars parked in a paid parking deck, cellphones logged into Twitter, demanding that the rich and powerful provide for the poor? Would it not be better to serve quietly, where the truly poor are, be it through ministries in the church or local charities? You are not likely to find the "poor" online and following social media on their cell phones.

The one who "stands with the hungry" does not necessarily stand with Jesus. Mr. Wallis suggests that we the Church should go out to the streets, visit with the protesters, and take THEM food. Are you kidding me? You want to stand with the hungry, then feed those that are truly starving. That is one of the more important roles of the Church - it does little good for us to take to the streets and demand that the government or the rich feed the hungry. If you have means, and passion to serve, work through your church and just do it. Standing on Wall Street holding a sign does absolutely nothing for the hungry.

The one who "stands for those without a job or a home" does not necessarily stand with Jesus. We are entitled to nothing in this world. Nothing. Neither the rich nor the government owes us anything. At all. In economic hard times, people lose jobs and sometimes lose their homes. It can indeed be tragic. But sitting on the street demanding that the rich and the government give people jobs and homes accomplishes nothing. Can the church help those who are unemployed and homeless? Of course we can. But we would be better served - and blessed - if we actually helped them, as opposed to protesting as if the world owed us something. Because the world owes us nothing - and if you haven't figured that out yet, it is time to grow up.

As far as Mr. Wallis' comment about those that are "peaceful, nonviolent, and love their neighbors," guess what, I don't have much argument with that. But to walk as Jesus walked takes more than being civil and kind to others: Philippians 2:1-11.

But then he says that those who "talk about holding banks and corporations accountable, they sound like Jesus," he loses me again. Jesus and the prophets did not talk about holding the wealthy and powerful accountable - not in the sense that Mr. Wallis claims. Everything Jesus preached on this matter had to do with 1) the individual's tendency to place greater value in material things than in spiritual things, and 2) taking issue with the teachers of the law, the religious leaders of Judaism who had been corrupted by power and money. Jesus did not rail against the Romans - although many among Jesus' followers desperately wanted him to lead a protest-based rebellion against Rome. What Mr. Wallis ascribes to Jesus is precisely what Jesus did not do. Jesus did not call for the wealthy and powerful to be accountable to the people. He called them - and all of us - to be accountable to God. Jesus was there to save men's souls - not to foment a populist rebellion or to establish an earthly kingdom that provided material equality and benefits and justice to everyone. Such a kingdom is one made in man's image, not one that proceeds from the throne of Heaven.

Perhaps there are pockets of people on these streets who are truly gathered in Jesus' name. And if so, without doubt the Holy Spirit would be present. But to ascribe alignment to Christ by those who may not acknowledge His Name, but who only profess to "stand" with the poor, hungry and jobless is false. This doesn't necessarily make them bad people, nor does it make their ideals suspect. Anybody can be good and stand for good things. But standing for good things doesn't equate to standing with Christ. It very much comes down to motive, and I know for certain that I can claim no special knowledge to what drives these people to these protests. But as 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "… for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

With apologies to Mr. Wallis, standing with Christ is a far higher, and a far more transformative standard than what his observations suggest.