Dear BPCWA worshipper, News of the death of the Roman Catholic Pope has been in the news over the past weeks. As is typical of the deaths of international personalities, news outlets scanned every nook and cranny to find snippets and testimonies to acknowledge their work posthumously. Many articles applaud him for being a loving and compassionate man. In reading many articles from different news stations, he was missed and well-liked by many, within and outside of Roman Catholic world. What can we learn from how popularity as a person can be gained?

Liked by the masses. Some of the reasons for this were because he was actively involved in what the world prizes highly: 1) Supporting the poor and marginalised.His renown in this brought him much admiration. In a Facebook quote by Melinda French Gates, ex-wife of Bill Gates, she said, “By naming himself for the patron saint of the poor, Pope Francis placed poverty at the center of the Gospel. With grace and love, with faith in action, His Holiness used a healing hand to lift up the most vulnerable among us. Spending time with him was one of the honors of my life.” A news article by The Conversation speaks favourably of the Pope, mentioning that he “turned a Vatican plaza into a refuge for the homeless, whom he called “nobles of the street”. He washed the feet of migrants and prisoners during the traditional foot-washing ceremony on the Thursday before Easter.” 2) Adopting a compassionate and “don’t judge” mentality. Despite the traditional Roman Catholic church previously taking the conservative stance on matters of gender, the homily for his funeral described the late Pope as “a pope among the people, with an open heart, who strove for a more compassionate, open-minded Catholic Church”. A CNN video quoted an openly gay Vatican Adviser who “describes Pope Francis’ support for trans worshipers”. The Advisor quotes the Pope as saying, “the fact that you’re gay doesn’t matter. God loves you, God made you like this, and the Pope loves you. And you’re fine. Don’t worry. With the LGBT community, I took some trans people to meet him, and they told him his stories and he was almost in tears.” It is easy to gain popularity when you agree with others, don’t talk about sin, and only “love”. The call to be compassionate reaches hearts. And don’t mention sin to offend them because it is judgemental and unloving. After all, with point #1, these are the marginalised and downtrodden – never mind if that is because of sin. If you mention sin, you immediately become unloving and disliked, so just be compassionate and let them continue in sin!  

However, it is most important to be liked by God. It is in man’s nature to be moved by these stories as they tug at the heartstrings. However, as Christians, we must not be stirred by these without considering things from God’s perspective, biblically. Who the world considers “a good man” because of his work for the poor and underprivileged isn’t necessarily “good” in God’s eyes. We are not saying that it is evil to be concerned for the poor and marginalised. But being and doing so must not be confused with “being grace and love, with faith in action” before God, and hence be called “His Holiness”. The world has always admired social work. Such good works form the backbone of all religions with merit-based salvation due in part or full to good works. For Roman Catholics, it is about service and work. Their website, which declares “Franciscan Missions is committed to spreading the Gospel message”, follows with the statement that they “work to fund soup kitchens, projects for well systems, and the development of farms, churches, medical clinics, and housing for the poor”. In the world’s eye, engaging in social work naturally makes them well-received to both the religious and non-religious. However, such religions are abhorrent to God’s salvation plan because underlying the good works is the rejection of His salvation plan. God “hath saved us. . . not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2Ti 1:9). This mindset of having a religious admiration and the exaltation of those who demonstrate a concern for the underprivileged is so prevalent that even Christians can embrace such thinking. There is nothing in the Bible that hints that washing the feet of prisoners is something that Christians should seek to do. Christ and His Apostles never sought to wash the feet of any prisoners (though there surely must have been many then) as a sign of compassion. The Gospel is not about a concern for physical poverty, but about spiritual poverty. Nor is “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3) about being lowly before man, and you will go to heaven. We must know the Bible clearly so that we will not be drawn in by such misunderstandings and admire men who promote and propound an unbiblical form of love – love must be without judgement! When it comes to sin, being compassionate is a surefire way to win the popularity vote. Adjectives like “kind, loving, and understanding” would easily come to the minds of those the Pope has declared that he “loves”. Without consciously acknowledging it, the Pope would probably have been considered by many to have been more compassionate than Christ, the Perfect Man. If Christ were still on earth, He might lose the popularity vote to the Pope. God’s love is never at the cost of accepting sin. God’s appointed messenger for Christ, John the Baptiser, paid with his life for rebuking sin, “For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife” (Mr 6:18). God, Who is love (1Jo 4:8,16), surely wouldn’t even be remotely considered as compassionate by the world according to its expectations. God describes the transgender as those who “dishonour their own bodies between themselves” (Ro 1:24) and “men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another” (Ro 1:27). God calls their “love” for each other as vile affections (Rom 1:26), and that they who “commit such things are worthy of death” (Ro 1:32). All these are descriptions that certainly won’t win any popularity contests with the world today. But telling people that “the fact that you’re gay doesn’t matter. God loves you, God made you like this, and the Pope loves you. And you’re fine. Don’t worry . . .” will surely make you popular and liked. We are constantly being exposed to the fruits of the popular concept of “love and compassion without judging”. This message is highly prized, with public sentiment often swayed in their favour, and it is tempting for Christians to follow suit. One can do so to gain popularity in whatever form it may take, whether for condoning sin or for promoting someone to an undeserved position. Those doing so will be seen as “good, loving, and compassionate”. This is not surprising because God said, “A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth” (Pr 17:8). This Proverb sarcastically mocks how having what is precious is in man’s eyes brings success to the owner. Any religious leader who offers and promotes what the world prizes will gain popularity and support.

Do such leaders appeal to you too? Do you feel that BP leaders should support such people who are so “compassionate and loving”, allowing you to do and live as you wish? Do you secretly feel that we should have greater unity as Christians because the Christian who keeps strictly to God’s commands in His precepts can seem stern, austere, authoritarian, and extremely unloving? Well, the point is that one who sticks to God’s rules will certainly be very, very, unpopular in today’s world. It is inevitable as God has warned in the last two Beatitudes. Remember, it is not just about who you like, but also who you want to like you. As Christians, let us always use God’s standards to measure who we should look up to spiritually, and what kind of leaders we should desire and support. Also, to remember not to try to win the world’s favour, but instead God’s.

“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Ga 1:10)

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor