Many Christians in business, insurance, finance, government and education today pride themselves on being “Christ-like,” as if they possessed the full profile of skills and knowledge Jesus demonstrated in his day.
However, today’s definition of “Christ-like” seems to hang on the notion of providing service to individuals in the community through private channels, such as corporate, church, non-profit and special-issue projects like Ukrainian aid.
Are our Christian leaders really measuring up to their beloved mentor when they neglect to provide service using official public spaces as Jesus did in synagogue town halls, public gatherings outdoors and government spaces in the temple? Are they able to lead by demonstrating depth as well as breadth of knowledge?
Jesus was an expert practitioner in health care and law, and was a highly skilled teacher. He was a capable philosopher/scientist, economist and historian. He had the history of his nation at his fingertips and used it to comment on current events.
Jesus delivered outspoken public commentary and public service on public issues like taxation (temple tax, Caesar’s tax), the role of government (caring for the elderly), international relations (legions in Galilee and Judea), labor/management relations (parables), creditor/debtor relations (Lord’s prayer), responsible use of wealth (rich man), violent factions (zealots), minority affairs/discrimination (Samaritans), social welfare (congregate feeding), crime and justice (adjudicating the case of a woman taken in adultery), and delivery of pro-bono mental health services (demons).
Do church-going leaders even exercise a reasonable amount of knowledge about theology, including the beliefs professed by all of the major contenting denominations of the day, like Jesus did?
It seems that many Christians today are big on serving, but small on learning what kinds of issues to deal with, what kinds of avenues to go through, and the types of knowledge necessary to inspire good neighbors, good consumers and watchful public servants.
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
Don’t educate
immigrants
In response to the May 10 editorial by The Dallas Morning News:
The editorial’s attack against our great Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, regarding the governor’s concern for Texas taxpayers paying for “migrant” children’s education is an attempt to bury the fact that Gov. Abbott has valiantly tolerated the abuses thrust against Texas taxpayers financing President Biden’s capricious ballot-harvesting, irresponsible open-border scheme that is crushing innocent Texas taxpayers along the border who are bearing the brunt of this tyrannical infamy, while the far-removed from the border “humanitarian do-gooders” fan the flames of hate against our heroic Gov. Abbott.
The right thing to do is to hold President Biden and Kamala Harris accountable for the suffering they’re thrusting on American taxpaying Texans who are being enslaved to finance this sick globalism Marxist open border expansion. These globalist Marxists, along with foreign oligarchs and profiteering activists, have caused this tyranny and should be the ones responsible for educating these unlawfully brought children, not the state of Texas.
Imelda Coronado
Mission
