by Ben Sharpton

Created on: May 07, 2008   Last Updated: May 09, 2008

Wrong About Wright?

The brouhaha concerning Barack Obama and what he did or did not hear his minister, Dr. Jeremiah Wright say continues to be resurrected again and again by many wishing to discredit the popular senator. There's no doubt that Wright said some things that would offend certain people. His words do provoke emotions, which is exactly why the minister chose them. However, as one of my former ministers used to say, "If these words offend you, maybe you're the one who needs to hear them."

After all, ministers are supposed to answer to a higher calling than that of the government. There is a strong tradition of religious leaders speaking out against their nations' behaviors. Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, John the Baptist and Jesus all said some pretty critical things about the rulers of their time. Ministers who feel God calling them to prophesy against what they see as America's sins are supposed to do so.

George Stephanopoulos' question in the last debate, "Does Rev. Wright love America as much as you," is the wrong question. After all, Wright is supposed to love God more than anything else, including his country.

But the concern really is not so much about Dr. Jeremiah Wright, but about Senator Barack Obama. Critics insist that he should have not have tolerated any anti-American diatribe from the flamboyant minister. They say he should have left Trinity United Church of Christ a long time ago. When his minister spoke against America, Obama should have gathered his girls by the hands and walked out.

That thinking betrays a much deeper problem with Christianity in America. The idea that our commitment to our church goes only as deep as the words of the next sermon seems to be dreadfully misaligned. The church is not simply another club we join. It's not another credential we mount on a wall or a card we carry in our wallet. It is a living organism to which we commit ourselves.

Commitment to the church, to a spouse, to a family, to a career - commitment in its true form, is much deeper than just a verbal response. It implies long-term, for-better-or-for-worse, in-sickness-and-in-health, even-when-I-disagree-with-you dedication that goes far beyond abandoning the relationship at the next disagreement.

Sometimes, we Christians seem to be committed only to those things that tickle us, soothe us, make us happy and bless us. If our minister leaves and the new guy preaches with the enthusiasm of Ferris Beuhler's high school history teacher, then we leave the church. If the church gets new hymnals and "Amazing Grace" is no longer on page 1, we leave. If our children come out of Sunday School complaining that the cookies are stale, we leave. We seem to be committed to the church that comforts us.

The church should be a comfort, but it should also challenge us to new insight, to new ways of thinking and to new ways of service. The church isn't the place to go to get pampered and coddled. It's the place to go to receive our marching orders before heading out to do the work of God.

It seems refreshing to me that a politician would choose to stay committed and dedicated to his church when the critics all around him insist that he do the politically savvy thing and leave it. That shows real character.

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