Morality as Missional
Morality is about mission. It is less about the philosophical or social importance of having some kind of guiding framework for life in community. It is about understanding our humanity. It is about getting to grips with what it means to be human; what it means to relate to one another and what informs and shapes that relating.
But our interest in fleshing out what it means to relate to each other is not only for our own sake. The manner in which we relate to each other is not, and cannot, be restricted to members of our own community. Even if, at the end of the day, we conclude that our moral framework, shaped and informed by Jesus’ death and resurrection, does not apply to those outside the community of faith, the way we relate to each other is ultimately an expression of who God is, and therefore has to do with all humanity – without distinction. Our relating to each other as a reflection of God’s character is always for the benefit of those within and without the community.
A Christian morality that has as its goal the betterment of an individual in isolation from community or society is not a morality shaped and informed by Christ's death and resurrection. Insular thinking has the capacity to cripple spiritual growth and church outreach. Christian morality is about mission. It is about the witness we are called to bear in a world of shifting values and flexible moral horizons.
Read more: http://www.thedetour.net/forums/forum.php?c=2&t=198&PHPSESSID=4eca2852b959acba3156b971b5ce9fa9
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Quiet Gentleness
I strongly agree that the way we relate to others outside of the community of Christ is paramount to our witness. Over on my blog (http://allaboutcori.blogspot.com) I wrote a post that quoted from James 3:17:
“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It is wholehearted and straightforward and sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (LBE).
Imagine the way we communicated with those outside of the faith was along these lines - with gentleness, a willingness to yield, allowing discussion, full of mercy, courteous etc etc.
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