Reflections on Life and Faith,
by David Keating

Something to Stand For

October 14, 2006

      "If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

     This is the second column that draws on this adage for its inspiration. In case you missed the last installment, I mentioned that I had heard the saying used, among other places, in a speech by Malcolm X, a country song by Aaron Tippin, a rap song, and a quote by a football player.

     I've also heard it used as a criticism of mainline and/or liberal traditions (choose your favorite definition). When that happened not so long ago, I asked the person I was talking to for clarification. What did they think the "something" that we stand for should be?

     As it turned out, their list was pretty standard. No same-sex marriage, no Sunday shopping, combating the secularism that they perceived had overtaken western society.

     While I appreciate their sincerity, I do have one small problem. It means that we're defining ourselves in the negative. By what we're against. And if we do that, we can't help but be confrontational from the outset. It's us versus them before we even know who them is. In fact, we don't really want to get to know who them is. That just gets in the way of our absolute certainty in knowing how wrong they are.

     Jesus' ministry was often a matter of reminding people over and over that he defined his teachings by what he was for. To use modern media lingo, his "core message" was love and acceptance.

     He said that the first two commandments were to love God and to love our neighbour. And then, when he thought the disciples were ready for it, he brought the two together in a new commandment; to love one another as deeply as he loved us.

     I occasionally quote Spong, who said that mainline churches are more certain of what they don't believe than they are of what they do. But I've come to think that perhaps it's more that they're just not very good at defining themselves by what they're for.

     So here are some general ideas. They're for recognizing the dignity of every human being without qualification. They're for the fair treatment of all segments of society without exclusion. They're even for the recognition of the sanctity of all of Creation and our role as shepherds and caretakers of this environment we all share.

     If we determine what we stand for by what we're against, then living out our faith becomes a continual act of opposition.

     On the other hand, defining what we stand for by, well, focusing on what we are for, is an act of building up.

     Being for human dignity means that we speak out when that dignity is in jeopardy, no matter from where. It means to see ourselves in someone else's situation and to act as we would pray that others would act toward us.

     Being for fair treatment of all segments of society means that we do not stand by while prejudice takes place around us. It means that we actively engage those who engage in discrimination. Not to accuse or condemn, but to change.

     Being for the sanctity of all of Creation means that we ask ourselves hard questions about the consequences of the exploitation of natural resources. Not to cry that we must cease all progress, but that, as shepherds and caretakers, we must learn to manage those resources so that both they, and we, continue to thrive.

David Keating