Your Legal System at Work

According to Fox News, a woman in Grand Rapids, Michigan has had a civil rights complaint filed against her because she posted an advertisement on her church bulletin board seeking a Christian roommate. Evidently the Fair Housing laws intended to keep people from refusing to sell or rent to minorities can be used to keep a Christian from expressing the desire to share an apartment with someone who shares their faith. The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan said that this was illegal—“It's a violation to make, print or publish a discriminatory statement. There are no exemptions to that.” Yeah but what if it wasn't printed or published but written out in cursive and thumbtacked to a church bulletin board?

Not that this really matters, but the first thing I thought of when I saw this story was “Grand Rapids, Michigan?” Grand Rapids is the headquarters for some of the biggest companies in Christian publishing—like Zondervan and Eerdmans. The ad was posted on a church bulletin board;  It wasn't plastered on the church marquee or spray painted on a mosque or synagogue?  Do the good folks at Fair Housing really have spies trolling area churches looking for violators?

Several questions come to mind here. First, would it also have been illegal to express a preference for the gender of the desired roommate? After all, gender bias is illegal, right? Would any woman seeking another woman to share an apartment also be breaking the law because she was discriminating against men? Will fair housing laws women to accept men as roommates rather than discriminate on the basis of gender? After all, it worked on Three’s Company, right?

What if the ad had read, “Wanted: Michigan Wolverine fan to share apartment?” Would Michigan State fans have the right to sue for discrimination? Is it OK to look for someone to share an apartment based on shared interests? What if the ad had read “Wanted: Person interested in praise music and potlucks to share apartment?” Is the word “Christian” so loaded or loathed that this is the reason that the law was called? Would advertising any other shared interest as the basis for a roommate caused the same reaction?

Several years ago, there was a fair housing case in Michigan where two Christian women who refused a lesbian who answered their ad for a third roommate were fined and required to attend sensitivity training. Now it seems that Christian women can’t look for other Christian women to share apartments with… even if they advertise only at their church?

There is something just wrong here, but what is it? Is this a case of anti-Christian bias and persecution? Or is it that the folks at Fair Housing Center of West Michigan just don’t have real cases of housing discrimination going on so they have to spend their time on things like this? Or is it that some people have about enough common sense to half-fill a thimble?

Excuse me, but I need to walk down the hall and check out our bulletin board to make sure we don’t have any discriminatory ads posted that could get us sued.

Through a Glass Darkly

Robert Schuller may have found something beyond the power of positive thinking. Sunday he begged his church for money as his Chrystal Cathedral filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. I know that churches do go through cyclical financial issues from time to time. We just had to ask our people at Denbigh to give more than usual to pay for a new roof over our family room (when it starts raining inside, it’s time to get the work done). So I guess I shouldn't be critical of a tearful Schuller as he asked his church "If you are a tither, become a double-tither. If you are not a tither, become a tither." But their problem wasn't a new roof or a specific need to keep a specific ministry going. No, the church was in debt to the tune of somewhere between $43 and $55 million dollars.

While Schuller points to the recession as the cause of the church's money woes, there were deep problems well before this present financial darkness. Some of it was caused over a power struggle for control of church leadership among Schuller’s children after his retirement as senior pastor (nepotism is OK as long as you keep it in the family). But mainly there was the overreaching and overwhelming burden of the magnificent church edifice, literlaly a Christal Cathedral with 10,664 panes of glass. Schuller built one of the first megachurches on the premise, “If you build it, they will come… and pay for it.” Now people are doing neither. While the church has 10,000 members on its roles, only 1000-1500 actually attend services.  And people that don't come to church usually don't give to the church.

One of the things I remember thinking on a trip to Ukraine was about the contrast between the grand cathedrals (ones that survived communism) with their glittering domes literally covered with gold and the abject poverty of the people that lived right around them. If those were truly God’s houses, don’t you just have to wonder that God would rather his roofing material chiseled off chunks used to care for the poor? One wonders the same thing about Schuller and his cathedral. Was this really something to further the kingdom of God or was it a monument to one man and his idea? Contrast this with today’s reading today from 1 Thessalonians 2:3-5

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.

Denbigh will never have a Crystal Cathedral and I will never have a following like Robert Schuller (even including the literally tens of people that read this blog). But it is nontheless possible that me and my church on a much smaller scale will get just as wrapped up in ourselves and focused on the wrong things. Paul wasn’t into building cathedrals or attracting attention to himself. He simply wanted to point people to the gospel of Jesus, and he was perfectly happy hiding himself behind the cross as he did so. May God protect us from ourselves and our pride… to God be the glory.

Shine Your Lite So All Can See

I stumbled across (randomly and circuitously) this video on a blog on the Houston Chronicle website. It is a just released music video from the David Crowder Band. No, this isn't some cool  iPad app; it was done entirely, frame-by-frame and peg-by-peg on a Lite-Brite. According to the blog, it took 2,150 man hours, 700,000 colored pegs, 1200 Lite-Brite images, 83 friends and 148 pizzas to complete.

The video tells a touching love story.  The tear thing at the end really got me. The song is "SMS (Shine)" from the David Crowder band’s album Church Music (which has been out for awhile). The lyrics to the song are below the video:



Send me a sign, a hint, O whisper
Fill me with life 'cause I am listening
Come break the quiet, breathe your awakening
Bring me the light 'cause I am fading

Surround me with the rush of angels' wings

Shine Your light so I can see You
Pull me up, I need to be near You
Hold me, I need to feel loved
Can You overcome this heart that's overcome?

You sent a sign, the hint, O whisper
Human, divine, everyone is listening
Death laid low, quiet in the night is stirring

All around the rush of angels
O the wonder of the greatest love has come

Shine Your light so all can see it
Lifted up, 'cause the whole world needs it
Love has come, what joy to hear it
He has overcome, He has overcome

A Moment of Silence

A federal court ruled Friday that it is constitutional to be quiet. Well, what they really ruled is that the “moment of silence” with which Illinois public schools begin their school day does not constitute prayer and is therefore constitutional. A talk show host named Rob Sherman who is an atheist filed a lawsuit challenging the “moment of silence” practice arguing that providing a this "quiet time" of reflection actually encouraged students to pray and is therefore unconstitutional.  Actually, the “moment of silence” does promote prayer in the school— prayers of thanksgiving by teachers for sixty actual seconds of peace and quiet. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit decided that lawmakers were not seeking to establish religion and force religious practices by mandating a moment of silence. Sherman condemned the decision as "judicial activism" and pledged to appeal the decision.

I think that the courts should be applauded for injecting a bit of common sense in our legal system. I also think that Mr. Sherman might have had more of an argument that is apparent at first blush. The Bible says things like, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psa 46:10) and “For God alone my soul waits in silence” (Psa 62:1, ESV) and “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” (Psa 37:7). Being still, quiet, patient, unmoving, silent… this is the necessary condition before we will hear God. As long as we are caught up in the raging currents of the busyness of the day, we won’t have time for God. We need a moment of silence. If we have a moment of silence, then maybe we would be more aware of the God in whom we live and move and have our very being.  So Mr. Sherman is right—a moment of silence encourages prayer. Just hope no one tells the courts!

On an totally unrelated note, Alan Smith sent me this picture, which I think speaks for itself.  It is really sad that God's people are so well-know for division that this picture makes sense.  I guess we might was well laugh at ourselves... unfortunately, the world is laughing at us as well.

On Being Self-Absorbed

The final episode of Seinfeld in 1998 remains one of most watched shows in television history. This show was billed as “a show about nothing,” but this final episode makes a point. The cast witnessed a carjacking, but they did nothing to help the victim. In fact, they make jokes about the victim... until the law shows up.



So Jerry and the gang are convicted and thrown into jail and the series ends. So maybe they are still there. The word that we would use to describe people like the Seinfeld characters is “self-absorbed.” They were so totally focused on themselves and had no compassion or feelings for others.

Surely none of us have any problems being self-absorbed? We don't have any trouble seeing the perspectives, the concerns and the needs of others. While have positions and ideas and preferences, we all are perfectly capable of understanding the people around us who disagree, and we love and respect them anyway.  People who are self-absorbed only show up on TV; they never show up in church!  That's why Paul wrote this part of today's Daily Bible Reading in Philippians 2--

Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:2-4, ESV)

If we are going to be the kind of family God is calling us to be, then we need to learn to be as concerned with the opinions, perspectives, ideas and preferences of others as we all with our own. To see only own own needs and desires is to be self-absorbed!  If we are self-absorbed, we might get in trouble with the Law!

Rescue!

It was one of those events that captured the attention and the hearts of the world. I spent much of yesterday checking news reports and slowly counting 1, 2, 3… all the way up to 33. I had the CNN.com web site open all day and Alt-Tabbed over constantly to check the progress as those 33 trapped miners in Chile were pulled one by one from what should have been their tomb. CNN even had this countdown timer deal going— 00:00:00 minutes since the last rescue (brought to you by Pepsi).   Every single man was pulled safe and sound out of the mine than had been their home for two long months— it really was the feel good story of the year. God bless them! Now, CNN and all their press buddies (2000 strong were camped around the rescue effort) can go home now and leave these poor men alone. Fat chance!

There was a feeling of brotherhood and solidarity as hundreds of people worked around the clock. Thousands of man hours and millions of dollars were spent the rescue effort One of the family members said, “It was worth every peso.” And it was. When you are in the business of saving people, you come together and do what it takes to get the job done.

Why can’t the church get that? Why do we spend so much time and energy fighting among ourselves about things that don’t really matter? Why does such energy go into our intramural tussles and tangles over issues and questions that won’t seem important to us, let alone anyone else, in twenty years? If we really had a sense that we were in the business of saving people, then maybe we could come together as one person. Paul says that would be living in a manner consistent with the message of the gospel. Our reading today is from Philippians 1.

Whatever happens, as citizens of heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together with one accord for the faith of the gospel (1:27, TNIV)

If we really saw ourselves standing on the edge of the abyss helping to pull people out of the pit, maybe we’d get our act together. Maybe we can learn from from the good folks down in Chile.

Wake Up Church

Rich Iott, the “Tea Party” Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in Ohio, has some ‘splaining to do. It seems that Iott spends his spare time involved World War II military re-enactments... as a Nazi. He and his buddies dress up in Nazi uniforms and pretend to be Nazi soldiers of the 5th SS Panzerdivision, Wiking. There are pictures of him all over the group’s web site dressed up as his SS Nazi alter-ego. Now he defends this as a harmless hobby and historical exercise to educate people about the life of German soldiers during World War II. His group, of course, disavows any support of Nazi ideology; they don't condone what the Nazis did during World War II.  But they also fail to really mention anything the Nazis did-- like the atrocities and war crimes that historians say were committed by the very Nazi division that Iott and his buddies are portraying.

Harmless fun? Historical curiosity? Or disturbing fascination with one of the darker sides of the dark side of human history? It seems to me that it is incredibly difficult to associate yourself with Nazis and glorify Nazis while completely distancing yourself from what the Nazi’s thought and what the Nazi’s did. The argument seems to go something like, “I don’t believe what these guys believed and I don’t condone what these guys did-- I just like to walk and talk and dress like them.” You can argue that, but I’m not buying it. To a degree, we become partners with the people we emulate. So if you really want to be play the part of a patriot, then dressing up like a Nazi is a bad idea. But hey, that’s just me.

In our reading for today from Ephesians 5, Paul warns Christians against becoming partners in the sinful, pagan world (5:7). We have been rescued from the world of darkness; the last thing we should want to do is live like that world.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (Ephesians 5:8-14)

If we are going to be part of Christ, then we can’t emulate the sinful world. If we are going to walk in the light, then we can’t be part of the darkness. So Paul tells us to “be very careful, then, how you live.” (Eph 5:15).

The point of this post isn’t “Nazis are bad.” I would hope that everyone would know that—well, evidently not everyone. The point is, “Once you know what the dark side looks like, then don’t emulate that behavior.”

Wake up, Church! (v. 14)

Living Up to Our Upbringing

I remember Dad giving me “the speech” right before I went off the college. I guess most young men get some version of this speech from their father… or mother… or uncle or some authority figure. It is the speech that says, “Remember who you are.” Come to think of it, Dad may have used those very words in his speech, but he said something about “not bringinging dishonor on your family.” I remember thinking, “Dad, I going off to Freed-Hardeman, not going off in the merchant marine or something; there’s not but so much trouble to get into in Henderson, TN. They close the town and roll up the sidewalks at 8:00 each night.” That wasn’t true… it was at 7:30! But when kids leave home and go off on their own, they need to be reminded that they need to live up to their upbringing.

Paul gives us his version of the speech in our reading for today from Ephesians 4. Up to this point in the book, he has been pointing to what God has done in us and how God has called us. Now he tells us to live upto our upbringing— “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life (literally “walk”) worthy of the calling you have received.” (Eph 4:1). In the first part of the book, he lays the theological groundwork of all that God has done—our calling. Now he gets to the practical side—live up to your calling. It’s not enough to learn the lessons; we have to live the lessons. And Paul is going to get very practical in his practical application—

• Don’t live like the Gentiles in sensuality (4:17).
• Don’t lie to each other (4:25).
• Control your temper and resolve your issues before they lead to resentment (4:26).
• Don’t steal from each other, but work to proved for your needs and to share with others. (4:27-28).

All very practical applications of living worthy of our calling… living up to our upbrining. But it is interesting, isn’t it, where Paul choose to begin. His first application of living up to out upbringing is unity.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Eph 4:2-3)

In some ways, the commands that follow (lying, stealing, anger issues, etc.) are component parts of this first application of living together in unity. We just get along better if we don't steal from others or blow up in anger!  If we live up to our upbringing and walk worthy of our calling, then we’ll find a way to live together in peace and unity. The Holy spirit creates that unity; we don;t have a vote on whether or not we are one.  We just have to decie that we are going to LIVE as one.  All of the things of God are one— “one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.” (4:4-5). If God’s things are one, then God’s people must live as one. If we live up to our upbrings, we will live as one.

Make it so.

What Would You Take a Bullet For?

On September 28, a Christian lawyer and preacher named Edwin Paul, his wife Ruby and their 5 children aged 6 to 17 were shot and killed in Abbotabad, a town in northwestern Pakistan. They were murdered by a group of radical Muslims because they were Christians and because Edwin had been speaking out to defend other Christians in the area. Paul had earlier be warned to give up his Christian faith; he was told “we know how to throw out Christians, we will not allow even a single Christian to live here.” Two days later, the entire Paul family was dead. May God bless their family and friends who grieve for their loss.

What we have done in the place of the Paul family when told to give up their Christian beliefs “or else?” The fact is, we don’t know. Until we are placed in that kind of a situation, we have no idea what we would do. I would like to think that we would all listen to the words of Jesus, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev 2:10). Faith in God and commitment to the cross of Christ are things important enough for which to die.

There are hills that are important enough to die on. But then, there are some hills that aren't.  What if the question had been a bit different? What if the group with the rifles that barged into their house to threaten their lives had asked other questions--

• Do you have one or multiple cups in your communion?
• Do you think it’s OK for Christians to drink alcohol?
• Do you believe in a pre, mid or post-tribulation rapture?
• Do you sing praises to God with instrumentals or a cappella?
• Do you preach wearing liturgical robes or in a suit-and-tie?

OK, I definitely WOULD NOT take a bullet for any position on those questions. Don't get me wrong; I have answers for all of those questions. But put a gun to my head and I'll put one of those "In case of rapture, this car will be unoccupied" bumper stickers on my car. Put a gun to my head and demand I sing "The Old Rugged Cross" accompanied by a piano, and I'll ask, "What key would you like?" Put a gun to my head and I’ll wear either a liturgical robes or a suit and tie (which I consider to be the same thing anyway). But put a gun to my head and ask, if I believe in Jesus, then with God as my strength, I'll take that bullet (at least I hope I would).   Some things are worth dying for... and some things aren't!

I have to wonder if the list of things really worth dying for is really all that different from the list of things worth dividing Christian fellowship over? I mean, if you wouldn't take a bullet for your position on an issue, then is that issue really important enough to harm the body of Christ over? I wonder.

As Paul closes Galatians 6 (our reading for today), he says something that we need to hear. He has written to churches torn apart by all manner of issues relating to Jewish tradition and ritual. Paul closes the letter in his own handwriting by says this—

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. (Galatians 6:14–15)

The issues over which the Judaizers were stirring up the church were not part of the gospel. Paul insists that they actually mean nothing at all. Having the right position issues that aren’t worth dying for means nothing. The only thing we can boast in, the only thing worth dying for, is the cross of Jesus and becoming a new creation because of the cross. That’s something worth dying for.

System Failure

I remember an area-wide preacher’s meeting where we were discussing a seminar (really more of a debate) sponsored by one of our schools presenting several different perspectives on the role of women in the church. One of the preacher’s made the statement in his presentation, “It’s not that women can’t preach; I’ve heard several women speakers…” I couldn't resist asking him (in a good natured way, of course), “How do you know that women can preach; have you ever listened to women preach?” He assured me he had—on tape from women’s retreats and such. Someone asked him, “If you can listen to a woman preach on tape; could you listen to her while she was being taped?” (OK, that was me asking that question too; I was a bit testy that day). He thought for a minute and said, “That would be OK if you sat in the cry room and listened over the P.A. system… as long as you pilled the curtain and couldn’t see her.” He said it with such finality that I knew that no further inquiry was welcomed or needed.  The ex cathedra pronouncement had been given.

I think a lot of our church rules and traditions have been arrived at with just about that much thought and every bit as much finality. Church traditions OK— in fact, they are unavoidable. Any time you do the same thing the same way twice, you are creating a tradition. And even if you intentionally did every different every time, then THAT would be your tradition. I like church traditions—old and new, formal and informal. The only problem with our church traditions is when we start attributing them to God and acting like loyalty to the tradition is what saves us.

That was the problem in Galatia. The Judaizing teachers were converted Pharisees who insisted that Gentile Christians proselyte to Judaism and keep the Old Testament Law as a condition of being Christian (See Acts 15:5). They came to these new Gentile church with what they claimed was “The List” of practices and procedures that all real Christians had to follow. To fail to follow the list was to fail to be really Christian. The more credence the Galatians gave to the list, the more freedom and joy they relinquished. By accepting the legalism of these false teachers, they gave up their freedom in Christ for slavery. In our reading for today, Paul lays it out pretty plainly—

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.

Paul sums up his point in verses 6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” What is lost if the Galatians give in and follow the Law in order to better follow Christ? Paul thinks they lose quite a bit--

• First, Christ becomes of no value (5:2). Jesus came to save those who could not save themselves. If you can be good on your own by following the rules and keeping the traditions, then you don’t need Christ. The more you value your works the less you value His grace.
  
  
• Second, we are committed pretty much to perfection (5:3). The Judaizers handled the Old Testament like an all you can eat smorgasbord— they liked the part about circumcision, Sabbath observance, and kosher foods. But the part about animal sacrifices and yearly pilgrimages was a bit messy (and maybe the part about tithing too?). But if you want to be justified by the law, then you have to keep the whole law (See James 2:10). If we’re to make it to heaven through the right rites, then you have to be right all the time! Yikes!
  
  
• Third, we fall away from grace (5:4). The ultimate result of seeking salvation through law-keeping is that you will be lost! You can’t save yourself; ig you try to do so, that is the ultimate FAIL! A stress your works takes the focus off of God’s grace.

The problem of the Judaizers' system of salvation by works wasn’t really the works. Paul didn’t care about circumcision. In fact, he had Timothy (who was Jewish) circumcised so that he could have full access to ministry in the synagogues where Paul often preached. Paul himself did Jewish stuff when the situation called for it (see Acts 21:20ff). The problem wasn’t the works—it was the system. It was the idea that keeping the right system of works somehow ingratiated us more to God than just believing in Jesus, loving Him and seeking to obey Him.

The Judaizers weren’t heretics because of all their Jewish stuff. They were heretics because of their insistence that the Galatians needed a system to add to the gospel in order to be saved.

Of course, there is no lesson here for us today.  Forget I brought it up.

Getting It All Right

In our reading for today from Galatians 4, Paul is perplexed with his converts at Galatia and their willingness accept the legalistic requirements placed upon them by the Judaizing teachers. He asks them, “What has happened to all your joy?” (v. 15). They had traded their freedom in Christ for a slavish legalism with its complex system of rules and regulations as the necessary key to pleasing God. The initiation rite of circumcision was only the beginning; it was quickly following by “observing special days and months and seasons and years” (v. 10). They had come to believe that they were righteous by being right and that they were right because of their rite. Paul wonders if he had wasted his time in taking the gospel to them (v. 11).

What happened to all your joy? Legalism insists that salvation depends on getting all of your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed. You have to understand every doctrine exactly correctly. You have to get every rite exactly right. Any deviation from the pattern will cause you to lose your soul. Loving the Lord isn’t enough. Seeking to please Him isn’t enough.

How much fun is it to have someone watching you over your shoulder while you are doing something? You’ve had that happen, haven’t you? I’m not sure of all the psychological reasons why, but I do know that it is really hard to do what you are doing when someone is watching you that closely—

• You’re reading the paper, and feel someone reading over your shoulder.
• You’re playing solitaire and someone says, “Play the red six...”
• You’re typing while someone is watching and waiting for you to finish.

Is that as annoying for you as it is for me? We just don’t do our best work when someone is watching us, especially if they are just waiting for us to fail. In the legalistic system that the Galatians had bought into, someone was always watching over their shoulder.

In the movie “Remember the Titans,” there is this scene where a black football coach played by Denzel Washington has been brought in to coach a recently integrated high school in Alexandria Virginia and the racial tensions were off the charts. Right before their first game, a school board member came to the coach and said, “You know if you mess up, they will fire you.” Washington’s character said, “What do you mean mess up?” The board member paused and said, “Loose a game.” That really adds to the joy of athletic competition! Loose one game and you are gone!



That’s the message of legalism. There is a list of rules that one has to follow in order to really be a real Christian. Leave one item off the list, and you are off God’s list! Get a little mixed up on your doctrine.  Get a little off on your worship.  Organize your church in just the wrong way.  One mistake is all it takes and you cease to be a real church or a real Christian.  Loose one game and you are gone!

Well, we’re going to lose a lot games, you and I. The best batters in baseball (OK, so I’m switching sports metaphors here) fail to get on base 6-7 times out of ten. The most holy Christians fall short of the holiness of God by a mile. The most faithful churches get their doctrine wrapped around axle every now and again. Nothing will steal our joy as Christians faster than the mistaken notion that we can get it all right.

• If we think that we must get it all right and we HAVE gotten it right, the result will PRIDE and a disdain for all those who are right like you.
  
• If we think we must get it all right and HAVE NOT, the result will be DESPAIR and we'll likely give up trying to please God. 

Either way, what happens to our joy?  What Paul is doing in Galatians is reminding these baby believers that they were saved by God’s grace, not by their religious or moral performance. God calls them to obedience, but they will not and cannot win God’s love because they get all the rules right. They couldn’t and neither can we. We can make up our lists of rules and regulations. We can even get pretty good at keeping our list (as long as we leave ourselves a few loopholes now and again). What we can’t do is impress God in the process.