Why the Founder of Colorado for Family Values
has
lost his ability to share his love and
concern with those who could
use it
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By
Brian
Elroy
McKinley
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Will Perkins has lost his voice. And I'm very sad because
Will uses his voice for many good things. He's a kind and giving
man - committed to helping people young and old, honest in his
faith, honest in his business. Nonetheless, Will's voice is no
longer heard among the many circles that could benefit from
hearing it.
Will Perkins' loss is doubly sad because not just Will is affected. A whole community of Christian believers have lost their ability to speak. Or should I say, they've lost the ability to speak with enough credibility to be heard. Credibility comes from authority, and authority is bestowed upon a speaker by the listener. This is different from power, which is the ability of someone to force you to do what you otherwise would not. Power can be used on anyone with less power, even if the person being forced objects. Authority, on the other hand, is given voluntarily. Ultimately authority is stronger than power. Let me explain. If you hold a gun to my head and tell me to vote for you or die, you can bet I'll vote for you. But when you're elected, it'll be because you had more power than I had. You won't have any authority. I'll despise anything you say. I won't trust or believe you. If, however, you helped me in times of need or worked on behalf of my family or community, I would also vote for you. When you're elected, it'll be because you had authority. I will voluntarily support and trust you. When you speak, I'll want to believe in what you say. If you're elected by power instead of authority, you'll eventually lose your power. When the masses, who have no faith in you, finally decide to rebel, you'll fall as quickly as the communist governments in Eastern Europe did. If you were abusive in your use of power, you may even lose your life to the people you oppressed. History is filled with examples of this truth - that you cannot gain credibility by force. It is earned. Authority is earned. And nothing earns authority faster than through an act of love. Love is the opposite of power. You cannot both love people and use your power against them. Love gives rather than takes away. It supports rather than oppresses. It cares about people more than ideologies. It creates an environment of hospitality rather than hostility. This is why martyrs influence vast numbers of people. When a person loves others enough to die for them, the people heap authority and credibility upon that person - the sacrificial death becomes a rallying point for the masses. The same is true for the persecuted. When people are persecuted for acting on behalf of others, through their suffering they gain authority. Again we can see this in Eastern Europe, where a number of its current leaders where once imprisoned by their former oppressive governments. But the sad truth is that many leaders who gain authority through their acts of love often shift to using power to try and hold on to their authority. How much of history would be changed if they had understood that as soon a they use power, they lose their authority and quicken their demise. They lose the support of the people, and they lose their voice. This is what happened to Will Perkins, and to leaders throughout the Christian community in Colorado. Though not a political leaders, Will became a leader in the community through his honest care and through his support of good causes. When he used TV commercials to share his Christian faith, he had enough credibility and authority to be taken seriously. People perceived him as caring about their needs, so his words had importance. But sadly, Will and many others in the Christian community joined forces to support and lead the struggle to enact a law forbidding laws protecting homosexuals from discrimination. By a narrow margin, the law passed. Many, including Will, believe this proves they indeed have authority - after all, the people voted on it. But this is not necessarily true. In the case of Amendment 2, the election was so close that a couple of percentage points made the difference. Also, the amendment was worded in such a way that some voters didn't fully understand it. I clearly remember one interview with a voter leaving the polls. When asked how she voted on Amendment 2, she said she'd voted "Yes." When asked why, she stated how she thought everyone deserved laws to protect them from discrimination, even if they were gay. She believed a "Yes" vote would have protected homosexuals from abuse. It's possible that had every voter understood the amendment, it would not have been voted into law. But even if the outcome of the election is completely accurate, it still does not put Will and others in the Christian community in the position of authority. Instead of leading through love, they pitted a portion of the population against another part of the population. They were at the helm of the most divisive issue to strike Colorado in recent history. They used the political apparatus of the state to gain power over people whose lifestyle they despise. And in the gaining of this power, they have lost their voice. The Christian voice is suppose to be the voice of Christ in our community. It should be a voice of love and forgiveness, of hope and reconciliation. It doesn't matter that the issue was homosexuality. What matters is that the Christian community can no longer say it loves everyone as Christ did, because unlike Christ, it used power to gain control over other people. What matters is that the Christian community demonstrated that it believes enforced morality and political control are more important that grace. What matters is that a portion of our population sees the Christian community not as a place for healing and love, but as a place of judgement and hostility. What matters is they no longer see Will Perkins, and many other Christian leaders in our state, as a voice of Christ's love. I do not believe this is what Will intended. I've know him to be compassionate and caring. But unfortunately, through his leading role in the perceived oppression of part of our community, he's lost the voice needed to communicate the Christian message of hope and forgiveness to the very people he feels needs that message. The people who supported Will already believe in what he has to say. But it's unfair to single out Will Perkins. Many people in the Christian community have turned to using power to "enforce" what they see as God's judgments. They have felt powerless against the advancement of secular thought. But rather than minister out of this powerlessness, the very way Christ did, they have gone the way of the zealots, using political power to try and change people's hearts.
And they have changed hearts - but not in the way intended.
Rather than opening hearts to the Christian message, they've
hardened hearts against those who claim to be Christ's
representatives in the world.
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| About the Author |
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Family Values; a biblical view
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When Christ was Gay
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Why Focus on the Family is of the Devil
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James Dobson: Focusing on Himself
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To Confess or Not to Confess
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Email: el@elroy.com