A few things going on in the pop culture/faith culture that have captured my attention. Congresscritters are still trying to impeach the President, some Christians are questioning Kanye West’s conversion to faith and whether or not they really want him in the family, and Brandt Jean forgave Amber Guyger for murdering his brother, in what was a beautiful act of grace and mercy.
You may wonder what these 3 unrelated events all have in common. They all represent our human thirst for justice. I like to observe the chattering classes mostly to try to gain some insights around what is going on within people, and how it all relates to me, me, me. Just kidding, but there is some truth there. Iron sharpens iron.
I have my own issues around justice, that frustrating wail within your soul that wants to enforce some sense of order in our world, some kind of fairness. Also, some way of stopping bad things from happening. Justice as control in a world gone mad. Season all that with the aroma of envy, pride, offense, revenge, and power, and you’ve got a real toxic stew.
I don’t wish to start a fuss here, but impeachment of the President is really just a totally futile pursuit of justice hunger, aka, revenge. You can’t embarrass the guy, you can’t cost him money since he doesn’t even get paid for the job, and should you “win” your impeachment, he simply resigns and we wind up with President Pence. So impeachment is one of those exercises in justice futility, where all your efforts just cause you to suffer far more then the alleged “bad guy” ever will. In fact, should you succeed, the “bad guy” is actually even more blessed then he was to begin.
There are perhaps 10 thousand tweets along the lines of, just impeach him and all will be well with my world. Now that’s just cray cray. Your own personal world is not going to change one bit either way. If you’re not okay now, you won’t suddenly be okay once the Prez is impeached. Sheesh, people.
Then we have Kanye West. His conversion kind of makes me laugh because it is the classic, “grace for me, but the harshest justice for thee” scenario. Or as the Babylon Bee quipped something along the lines of how, a bunch of wretched sinners now angry that…. God saves wretched sinners? All in good humor, but I totally get that. It can be most annoying. Just ask Jonah.
It really bothers me however, that we have so many people, Christian people, who don’t seem to understand how to answer the question, “what must I do to be saved?” Worse, we seem to have a whole lot of Christian people who really don’t want “those kind of people” in their country club. I was actually shocked by the number of tweets along the lines of, “he can’t be a Christian, he hasn’t earned it.” C’mon people, this is basic theology 101!
Then we have Brandt Jean’s beautiful act of mercy, and how incredible that was to see. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, indeed! Now that’s what Jesus died for. That’s what being a Christian is all about. It was so good, so pure of heart, so beautiful.
So naturally I really hate to say anything, I hate to be a spoil sport, or a “bad Christian” here, but that mother’s heart of mine just won’t let it go! Nobody is sharing the video clips of Allison Jean, of a mom’s anger and grief, of her own cries for justice. Her pain did not just magically go away. Her son is still dead. All is not right with her world.
We in the Western Christian world kind of tick me off sometimes We like the grace and mercy part, the good stuff, the forgiveness without all the mess. We like the Jesus who holds hands with us and sings kumbaya, but not the one who speaks of white washed tombs and broods of vipers. We like forgiveness as an eraser, as a way of just making things go away, but not so much, forgiveness as a mirror, forgiveness as a call to repentance ourselves. We don’t think too much about the price that Jesus paid, the suffering He endured, the actual blood He spilled.
Far too often I’ve just seen forgiveness weaponized, cheapened, used as a way to avoid our messes rather then to confront them.
We should all honor Brandt Jean as he himself honored Christ, and honor that purity of heart that calls us to repentance ourselves, to service. But this is the piece that is so often missing in the West, the idea that grace is really a mirror that calls us all to repentance ourselves, and not just a paper towel we use to drape over a mess so we’ll all feel better about it.

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The political scene? Congressional hearings? Impeachment?
I find it almost impossible to even TRY and focus on this blathering BS. I kinda feel sad for those who put ANY sort of faith or trust in this circus.
Celebrity “conversions”?
The modern “gospel” is SO self-serving & man-centered… with so little of real RELATIONSHIP in which we can gain any insight at all into whether someone’s life has been transformed or not?
Kanye likely “prayed the prayer”. He’s in. Not to mention, HE’S a freakin’ CELEB! Think how much GOOD he can do for the Lord!
The words of Brandt Jean to his brother’s killer?
Awesome!
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I’m sorry your comment got held up. I fished it out. Chuckling here, but I myself wound up in the spam folder right next to you. WordPress can be wonky sometimes.
It’s hard to explain my frustration with the Brandt Jean situation, but you spoke of the modern gospel being “self serving and man centered.” Well, how many Christians perceive themselves as an Amber receiving grace, as a metaphorical murderer if not a real one? Not very many! Most are totally detached or else picturing themselves as a hero, as being the ones in charge of doling out the forgiveness. Where is our weeping with those who weep? Where is our anger at the injustice? Where is our collective repentance, our desire to make sure this kind of thing never happens again?
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As the years pass, I become less engaged with these matters of state, of the public square, of the great questions. Perhaps it’s because the cycles and repetition of issues and behavior is easier to spot with experience. These days, rightly or wrongly, I look for reprieve at small scale. A quiet moment, a watchful observation in celebration of beauty and fulfillment. You write so well and illuminate truths. Thank you for that. And after these big picture matters, perhaps your readers may enjoy an oasis of happy, gentle thoughts here: https://thethinkingwasp.wordpress.com/. Please keep up the amazing work.
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Thank you for your kind words and for the link.
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Yes, I’ve been noticing the American version of Christianity lately, and I’m afraid it’s something that Christians suffering for their faith in other parts of the world wouldn’t recognize. Repentance, forgiveness, and suffering are hardly mentioned in some circles. Life is messy, the world is a fallen, sinful, messy place, and if we can’t deal with that I wonder how much of our faith is real?
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I see you pulled out the dictionary I sent ya with your “Congresscritters” Comment. 🙂
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Ha! Always nice to hear from you, Patrick. 🙂
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As you pointed out impeaching President Trump would mean we would end up with President Pence. I voted for Trump but I believe Pence would make a better president so I am not upset by the possibility of impeachment.
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Just watch how fast the tide goes full blast against a President Pence. Does anybody think that would stand. With him only between Pelosi and the Presidency! I thank God for a man who stays put. I’m not opposed to President Pence. I’m just saying President Trump will not mean peace in the media/Dem world!
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Where are all those things, you ask?
They went down the drain along with the true, God-centered gospel.
The vast majority of church-goers have little or no grasp of the depths of what God has done for us, or His calling upon our recreated lives.
I, for one, have a pretty good grasp of it, but choose to wallow in self-pity and apathy, anyway.
Lord, have mercy upon your people.
By the way, I am done with trying to comment through a WordPress account. It’s been annoying, to put it mildly.
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Test comment. Feel free to delete. Having problems with WordPress. Annoying
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The lefty echo chamber is getting loud. I think that I’ll start impeachment proceedings against them. Maybe I’ll start with my neighbor, he’s a lefty and annoying. The democrats have lowered the bar enough that simple annoyances seem to be a high crime or misdemeanor.
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Wait, can I impeach my neighbor??? Ohh, I’m liking this idea…. 🙂
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Powerful.
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