Gloria Dei Lutheran Church | Urbandale, Iowa

True for You: As Long as It Doesn't Hurt Anyone

Pastor Burcham’s Sermon

Sunday, October 4, 2009

[Video. Lie Detector Test. “Reverend Burcham, did you steal something?” “Yes, but. . .” “What now, Reverend Burcham?” “Well, no one got hurt.” “What do you mean no one got hurt?” “Well, it’s not like somebody died or was in pain or anything. So as long as no body got hurt in the process, I’m not sure why we’re making such a fuss.” “It is simply the truth of the matter that we are trying to get at here and the truth is that you have taken something that does not belong to you.” “Look, Ron, just give me back the candy bar you took, alright? And no more ride alongs.”]

Well, that’s what you get for having a cop as a friend, I guess. They go to great lengths for things. We have been looking at truth or the absence of an absolute truth in our world. It may be challenging to some of us because we grew up saying, “Well, there obviously is an absolute truth and it comes from God. And what’s true is true and what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong.” But that’s not the way it is in our world and I’ve been trying to demonstrate that to you. Even some of the phraseology that has probably crept into your dialog with people gives way to the fact that truth is relative. It all depends on the situation, the circumstances. It’s subjective. It all really depends upon my situation, where I’m at and so what’s true for me isn’t necessarily true for you but that’s okay. We can respect each other. We can be tolerant of one another. What it really does is it moves us off the mark of truth just a little so that we end up very, very far from the truth.

This morning, we’re going to look at the last subjective truth and what I call the Subjective Truth of Involvement. What I mean by that is if no one else is involved, if it doesn’t affect you, if it doesn’t involve you, then it shouldn’t matter to you. In fact, keep your nose out of my business and you have no right to judge me and the things that I’m doing. If I chose to do something, if you disagree with it, that doesn’t matter. As long as I’m not hurting you, as long as no one else is getting hurt, as long as you’re not involved in it, then why should it really matter to you? You have to admit, that has a certain ring of truth to it. It makes sense, kind of, sorta. But I think what we’ll see is when you move just slightly off the mark, well, we know what happens.

Before we get too much into the subjective truth of involvement, I want to point out two of the tools that I believe the devil is using quite effectively and I think he’s using it quite effectively on us as well. And they relate really to this subjective truth of involvement. His two tools are this: The first one is comparison. Comparison means that I compare myself to other people. So all of us will say, “Well, you know, I’m human. I’m not perfect, I understand that.” But certainly you can point out someone who is worse than you, right? There’s always a bigger sinner out there who’s done something more than you’ve done. So you say, “Well, yeah, I’ve told a little white lie every now and then but nothing compared to my friend, Marty. Wow, what that guy fabricates! He just flat out lies! You see, he’s worse than I am. There’s a bigger sinner out there.”

“Oh, sometimes, my language gets the better of me but I have to tell you, my neighbor? I have to close the windows sometimes. Boy, he’d make a sailor blush the way he talks.” You see, comparison, there’s always someone who’s worse. There’s a bigger sinner out there and so somehow that makes me feel better about myself and I feel a little bit justified in my behavior because, after all, I’m not as bad as somebody else.

The second tool he uses is called repackaging. I didn’t come up with that term. Another pastor, Pastor Groshell, came up with the term but I like it. I like it because I think it’s accurate. We repackage things so they sound better. In fact, they could even sound good, right? So we don’t call it pornography. Oh, no, that’s a terrible term. It’s adult entertainment. Well, I don’t want to have childish entertainment. Of course, I want adult entertainment. You see, we repackage it so it sounds better. We don’t call it fornication. Oh, that’s a bad term. That’s an antiquated term. Who would use that kind of term? No, no, no, no, no. We call it recreational sex. Recreational? Everyone’s for recreation, right? I wonder if they have a rec league for that? You see? We repackage it. We repackage it so it sounds better. In fact, it even sounds acceptable.

Two tools that I would guess each one of us, to one degree or another, have fallen prey to. And I believe they fit in with this subjective truth of involvement. Subjective truth of involvement, the first thing it says is if it doesn’t involve you, then stay out of it. That’s the basic line. If I am not affecting you in my behavior, if you have nothing to do with it, if it’s just me by myself, then really, what should it matter to you? In fact, how dare you sit in judgment on me and impose upon me your ideals, your morals and your values? You can’t do that.

I read this past week there has been a shift in the most frequently quoted scripture passage. For the longest time, it was John 3:16, “For God so loved the world,” you know that one, right? The one that is quoted most now is, “Judge not lest you be judged.” Don’t even care about the reference. We just know it’s in the bible someplace and so that’s what we’re going to pull out when we feel like somebody is accusing us or wanting to impose upon us their ideals, their virtues. Well, judge not lest you be judged. If it doesn’t involve you, it doesn’t affect you, then mind your own business.

A great example of that just this past week. I’m guessing most of you heard about the whole David Letterman scandal-type thing, right? David Letterman comes out because he had to appear before a grand jury. Somebody was trying to blackmail him because he was having sex with two of the people who he worked with. Shocking, I know. But I was reading an article online and there was a blog underneath it. A blog is where people make comments about the article. Some interesting comments but one that really caught my eye was this one and it said this, “Ain’t nobody’s business but the players involved who they hook up with.” His grammar, not mine, by the way. But do you understand the statement? “Ain’t nobody’s business but the players involved.” A little repackaging there. Players involved. That sounds fun. That sounds good. But it’s not of your business. You’re not involved, you don’t know the situation so we can’t stand in judgment about Dave or the other people and what they’ve done. That’s the subjective truth of involvement.

The second part of that is no one got hurt. As long as no one gets hurt, then no harm, no foul. What difference does it make? Especially if we combine them, that I haven’t involved anybody else and nobody got hurt in the process, then who’s to say that’s right or to say that’s wrong. So last night, I’m going 110 miles an hour down Interstate 80 but don’t worry. No one else was in the car with me and I had my seat belt on and I didn’t get hurt. And the best thing is I didn’t get caught. So what’s the deal? What’s the problem? Why shouldn’t I have the freedom, if I want to, to find out what it’s like to go 110 miles an hour down Interstate 80? No harm, no foul.

My teachers used to tell me when I was in school, they would always look at the class and they’d get that teacher look to them and they’d go, “Ladies and gentlemen,” I don’t know where the ladies and gentlemen were but evidently, it was supposed to be us, “Ladies and gentlemen, I just want you to know before you take this exam, when you cheat on an exam, the only person you hurt is yourself.” Now I never said this to my teacher but I often thought it, “Well, no pain, no gain.” If it’s just me that I’m hurting, then what should it matter? No one else is involved and if I choose to do that, then who’s to say that’s right or that’s wrong?

So that means if you want to sit down in front of your computer all night and look at adult entertainment and you’re doing that in the privacy of your home, you’re not hurting anybody. You’re not involving anybody else so who’s to say that’s wrong or to say that’s right? See my point? Once again, if you just move it slightly off the notch of truth, we get very, very far from the truth.

It still amazes me, and it shouldn’t, but just how relevant scripture is for our life. Something that was written nearly 2,000 years ago, the apostle, Paul, writing to a young pastor named Timothy, he might as well have been writing to me. “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.” I think we’ve arrived. “Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” They will turn away from the truth and they will only listen to what they want to hear. That’s the subjective truth, that’s relative truth. That’s saying that truth is a moving target and whatever is true, whatever it makes me feel good about, whatever justifies my activity and the things I want to do, that becomes true for me. Whatever my itching ears want to hear, turn away from the truth and start believing the myths.

My friends, I believe there is an absolute truth and that absolute truth comes from God. And I think if we just think about it a little bit, we can poke some pretty big holes into the relative truth and the subjective truth, including the subjective truth of involvement.

For instance, the subjective truth of involvement says if you’re not involved, if nobody else is getting hurt, then why should it matter? Then I would submit to you that no one lives in a vacuum. No one can say that the things I do don’t affect other people, even if you don’t think they’re affecting somebody else. I guarantee you, every action you take, every word you speak has some sort of ripple effect on the people around you and the people that you don’t even know. So you say, “No harm, no foul. I can go 110 miles an hour down Interstate 80. There’s no one else in the car. I’m not involving anybody else.” Except for the state trooper who has to put his life on the line and chase you down because it’s his job to protect the public. You’ve just involved somebody else.

You can say, “You know what, I can just sit in the privacy of my home and if I want to stare at that computer screen at that adult entertainment all night long, I’m not hurting anybody else. I’m not involving anybody else.” Do you really think that was their first career choice? Have you not contributed to the billion dollar industry that is sucking young girls in? Are you not contributing to their own sinful behavior? God has something to say about that. Matthew 18, He says this, “But if anyone causes one of these little ones,” He’s talking about children, you can insert anyone, “If anyone causes one who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and for him to be drowned into the depths.”

Bottom line is this: We do not live in a vacuum. You can try to convince yourself all you want that you don’t affect other people but I guarantee you, every action, every word, it affects other people. And if you drag other people into your sin, you’re going to be held accountable. Jesus is clear on it. You’ll be held accountable.

The second lie about the subjective truth says if we just simply deny it, if we repackage it, then it’s okay. So if we just call it something else, if we just compare ourselves to somebody else and say, “Well, I’m not as bad as ‘so and so,’” then, all of a sudden, I’m okay and I’m justified and I’ve rationalized my behavior. The fact of the matter is no, God decides what’s right and what’s wrong. And on many, many, many instances, it is very black and white. He spells it out. This is acceptable behavior. This is unacceptable behavior. And just because you deny it does not make it right.

We read this just a few moments ago as a congregation, our confession, it comes from 1 John 1, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Verse 10 more directly, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him,” that is, God, “we make Him to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives.” We try to say, “Nah, we haven’t done anything.” We’re calling God a liar.

Now I seriously doubt that anyone sitting here is going to say that you’re without sin. You say, “No, no, no. I’m human, after all. So sure, but I’m not that bad. I’m not a bad person. There are certainly other people who are far worse than I am. I haven’t committed some heinous crime. I haven’t done some terrible acts out there.” Listen to what God says in the book of James. He says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Whoever manages to keep all of God’s commands except one, you’re guilty of breaking all of it. God does not grade on a curve. God doesn’t give points for “here’s the good stuff” and “here’s the bad stuff” and as long as this one’s bigger, you’re okay. God is pass-fail. And we failed.

Why do you think it’s so important that we hang onto the truth? Why do you think I’ve spent four weeks trying to point out how the devil wants to pull us away from the truth? There is a lot at stake here. This just isn’t a stake of causing offense or having different opinions. Eternity is at stake. That’s what we’re dealing with here. Eternity is at stake. We need to know the truth of the matter and the truth of the matter is that God is pass-fail and we have failed. The truth of the matter is, though, eternity doesn’t have to hang in the balance because God provides an answer for us but we have to know the truth if we’re going to hear that answer.

The truth comes again from 1 John. He says, “If we confess our sins, He’s faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Did you hear what He said? He said, “If we work really hard, we can make up for our sins.” No, He didn’t say that, did He? No. He said, “If we wallow in guilt and we grovel before God,” He didn’t say that. He said, “If we confess our sins,” in other words, if we come clean with God, if we come to the realization of the truth with God, He wipes out all of our sin.

Why do you think the devil wants to pull you away from the truth? He could care less whether you sin more or sin less. He just wants to pull you away from your Savior. He wants to pull you away from the truth of God’s love and what He accomplished through His Son, Jesus. That’s the whole point. And God went to great lengths to show you that truth. Great lengths to reclaim you as His own.

Think of it this way: At the beginning of each of the messages for the past four weeks, we’ve had this little storyline going on, right? And now you know the end of the story. Officer Heldt went to great lengths to get his candy bar back. One would even say a little bit over the top to get his candy bar back. Interrogations, polygraph machines, intimidation of being in the police station. I’ll tell you what, that was fiction. This is the truth. God went to great lengths to get you back, great lengths, some would say over the top. He sent His Son to live in this sinful world, the world that turned its back on Him. He sat by idly and watched as His Son was punished. He didn’t lift a finger, didn’t release the angels as He was being whipped. He turned His back as He was on the cross. He took your punishment and mine and laid it upon His Son and His Son went through hell and cried out, “God, why have you forsaken me?” He sat silent.

He went to great lengths so He could say if you confess your sins, He’s faithful and just and then forgives all of your unrighteousness. That’s the truth that Jesus came to testify about. That’s the truth that your friends, your coworkers and your family need to hear. In fact, it’s the truth that you need to know. Amen.