Is God politically correct?
I mentioned the other day that Jeff Darlington has a blog where he discusses, among other things, theology. He doesn't post often, but when he does, he has some serious thoughts to share, such as this:
For all their talk about tolerance, the politically correct crowd is remarkably intolerant. In their mindset, it doesn't matter whether you're black or white, whether you're male or female or neither, or whether you're heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual, as long as you think the right way. It has remarkably little tolerance for people who disagree with their ideology, and God help you if you're a member of a politically correct minority group who happens to hold politically incorrect ideas. Then they feel quite free to engage in racist rhetoric.
The problem with being politically correct isn't just that it's an enforced way of speaking with no effort to change attitudes--they honestly believe that if people can only say nice things, eventually they'll only think nice things--but that what it's enforcing is all wrong. It promotes uncritical acceptance of different people groups by downplaying differences between them, going so far as to ignore, suppress, and ridicule any evidence that there might indeed be such differences. It promises diversity except in the one way that really matters: the diversity of ideas. Oh, it allows for different religions and philosophies, as long as they are all accepted as equally valid and none of them conflict with the tenets of political correctness itself. But to actually acknowledge real differences between groups, differences of culture and beliefs which might require sorting between right and wrong, is beyond the pale.
What the Christian is called to do is quite different. We are called to love everyone--not to tolerate them, not to be uncritically accepting of them, not to live and let live. Loving people is tough, hard work. To love someone you have to get to know them, to know their good and their bad points, the qualities which you find charming and those which you find annoying. To admit that they have flaws and that you have to love them in spite of them. But also to encourage and correct them, to help them overcome those flaws. And to accept correction when it's directed at you, for you too have flaws that need correction, and often the difficulties you have accepting certain qualities say more about you than about them. The politically correct crowd refuses to criticize any member in good standing. You can say racist and sexist and downright insulting things about others, as long as they're outside the protected groups. It refuses to look at those they accept closely enough to see those flaws which need correction, to deal with the real conflicts between them, and until it does, it can never love them.
While this is a wonderful little lesson in and of itself (and ties in very nicely with my recent "Providence" story in GPF), it suddenly occurred to me exactly why I loathe the term "politically correct" so much. I've had many people argue with me that political correctness is a good thing, and that even Christians, when they apply the principles I mentioned above, uplift the practice. But thanks to this lesson, I can now put into words what that distinction really is.
You see, political correctness is just what its name implies: the "correct" way of doing things given the current political climate. It's enforced by society, by those who don't wish to step on toes and inadvertently offend someone. If you are not politically correct, you are branded as an insensitive bigot; it is reinforced by shame and the fear of becoming a social pariah. Respect is required, not earned, but at the same time may only be skin deep.
To me, there's a strong separation between God's (and by token, a Christian's) impartial love for mankind and a mandate from some group such as the NAACP or ACLU to restrict what someone says. God is the ultimate example of impartiality. God cannot tolerate sin, yet mankind is inherently sinful (a fact that is directly contrary toward contemporary thinking). Thus, mankind has been condemned because of its sinfulness, but God, in His impartial love for all mankind--a deep, heartfelt love, not convenient lip-service--sent Christ to be the ultimate sacrifice to give us a way to escape this condemnation. (See John 3:16-18.)
Of course, I know a lot of my non-Christian readers out there wouldn't agree with this logic, but that's the way I see it. (For that, I take solace in I Corinthians 1:26-29.) I still can't stand the term "political correctness," nor the stigma (in my mind) that it implies. But you know, while God isn't very "politically correct," He sure is better at it than anyone else on earth is.
For all their talk about tolerance, the politically correct crowd is remarkably intolerant. In their mindset, it doesn't matter whether you're black or white, whether you're male or female or neither, or whether you're heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual, as long as you think the right way. It has remarkably little tolerance for people who disagree with their ideology, and God help you if you're a member of a politically correct minority group who happens to hold politically incorrect ideas. Then they feel quite free to engage in racist rhetoric.
The problem with being politically correct isn't just that it's an enforced way of speaking with no effort to change attitudes--they honestly believe that if people can only say nice things, eventually they'll only think nice things--but that what it's enforcing is all wrong. It promotes uncritical acceptance of different people groups by downplaying differences between them, going so far as to ignore, suppress, and ridicule any evidence that there might indeed be such differences. It promises diversity except in the one way that really matters: the diversity of ideas. Oh, it allows for different religions and philosophies, as long as they are all accepted as equally valid and none of them conflict with the tenets of political correctness itself. But to actually acknowledge real differences between groups, differences of culture and beliefs which might require sorting between right and wrong, is beyond the pale.
What the Christian is called to do is quite different. We are called to love everyone--not to tolerate them, not to be uncritically accepting of them, not to live and let live. Loving people is tough, hard work. To love someone you have to get to know them, to know their good and their bad points, the qualities which you find charming and those which you find annoying. To admit that they have flaws and that you have to love them in spite of them. But also to encourage and correct them, to help them overcome those flaws. And to accept correction when it's directed at you, for you too have flaws that need correction, and often the difficulties you have accepting certain qualities say more about you than about them. The politically correct crowd refuses to criticize any member in good standing. You can say racist and sexist and downright insulting things about others, as long as they're outside the protected groups. It refuses to look at those they accept closely enough to see those flaws which need correction, to deal with the real conflicts between them, and until it does, it can never love them.
