Whitewashed History

When I was studying history in college, one of my professors made the point that as students of the past, it is imperative that we don't force the moral standards of the present onto those in history.  This doesn't mean that we can't make moral judgments regarding the actions taken by those who have come before, but we must seek to understand them and their actions in the historical and cultural context in which they lived.  Again, this doesn't mean that we must endorse all that our forefathers believed, said, wrote, and did, but that we gain a truer understanding of history, and the people of history,  when we at least seek to show some level of empathy with those who have blazed the trails that we stroll along.

One of the fascinating things about Biblical history is that the actors within the Biblical narrative are not portrayed through rose tinted glasses, but are instead put on full display, warts and all.  We often learn what not to do, rather than what to emulate when we study these real life characters.  The Bible doesn't tell us the story of what might have been or what should have been, but what was and what is.  It deals with reality, realistically.  Abraham was at times a cowardly liar who slept with his wife's servant.  At other times, he was a brave, loyal, warrior who rescued his nephew's entire city from foreign oppression.  Jacob was a slimy, scheming, duplicitous Cretan who screwed over his brother more than once.  And yet, he was also one who strived with God, was given a new name, and became a new man later in life.  King David was a hot headed, vengeful, violent, murdering, adulterer in some moments of his life.  But he was also a man after God's own heart and he was the king that all the other kings of Judah were compared to.  He was the king that the Messiah was meant to emulate.  Do we overlook the flaws of these figures and do we seek to justify their bad behavior?  Absolutely not!  But, do we fail to admire these men for the good that they did and the importance they played in God's story of redemption?  Only at our peril.  Like these forefathers of the faith, we are all flawed in more ways than we'd like to acknowledge.

In our present climate, it seems that an awful lot of people want to re-write our history.  It's recently been said that any person of antiquity who either owned slaves or who ever had a racist thought should no longer be honored for even the good that they accomplished for their nation.  People have even suggested that Mount Rushmore should be blown to bits.  Were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln perfect?  Of course not - they were human after all.  Did they sometimes fail to live up to their lofty words?  Absolutely.  Would we have behaved better if we were products of their time and place?  Maybe, but I would hesitate to be so certain.  Like those who have come before us, our generation will be judged by the generations of the future and I can assure you, there are areas where we will all be found lacking.  And for all we know, the people of antiquity, if given all that we have received, might have done far more and far better than we ever will.

It also seems that some sins in the present are now unforgiveable.  That if a person falls from grace in certain areas, then they are branded for life with no hope of redemption.  But isn't the road of grace and redemption the most important part of the paths we tread in order to become the best possible versions of ourselves?  Who among us doesn't cringe at some of our previous words and actions?  Who among us isn't in need of restoration and transformation?  Let's look at our world critically, but let's seek to empathize with others and give grace where we can. 

I believe Jordan Peterson's advice to "set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world" is timely, as well as his admonition to "compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today" is worth considering.  Jesus said it like this, "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.  For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.  Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' while the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye."  Words worth living by. - Shay