Inner Rings (2005)

C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors. The best part about C.S. Lewis being one of my favorite authors is that I have a lot left of his stuff to read. I’m like that about reading and food. I save the best stuff for last so I can savor it. Systematic Theology is like poke salad and guys like Lewis and Schaeffer are roast tenderloin. Anyway, Lewis gave a speech during Commemoration at King’s College, the University of London, in 1944, entitled “Inner Rings.” It is a remarkable speech for several reasons. One reason is because it is about something that we are all very well aware of but you hardly hear about. Another reason is that it was addressed to a crowd of university graduates in King’s College. It is about the unwritten rules of the world, as distinguished from those you can find written in a little book somewhere. These unwritten rules reflect a series of unspoken affiliations where people are entering into, moving up within or being caste out or rejected from membership. They are the inner rings of life and can be found in every organized part of life, whether it is work, school, church or even Society.

Lewis describes these rings as something, “you discover gradually, in almost indefinable ways that it exists, and you are outside of it, and then later perhaps, that you are inside it. There are what corresponds to passwords, but they too are spontaneous and informal. A particular slang, the use of particular nicknames, an illusive manner of conversation are the marks. But it is not constant….There are no formal admissions or expulsions. People think they are in it after they in fact have been pushed out of it, perhaps before they were even allowed in; this provides great amusement for those who are already on the inside…When it is very secure and comparatively stable in membership, it calls itself ‘we.’ When it has been expanded to meet a particular emergency, it calls itself ‘all the sensible people in this place.’ From outside, if you have despaired getting into it, you call it ‘that gang’ or ‘they’ or ‘so-and-so and his set’ or ‘the Caucus’ or ‘the Inner Ring.’

Lewis states to his audience that inclusion to membership within these rings stems from a deep desire associated with a ‘secret intimacy’ to ‘belong’ and be considered a ‘made man or woman.’ The energy to get in consumes and defines lives to get in no matter what the cost. Rejects of these rings are driven by anger and rejection which consumes and drives to rip these rings apart, no matter what the cost. Those that are already inside the rings protect their status and it is by exclusion because, after all, how can it be a ring, if anyone and everyone can be a part of it? They are defined by exclusion and are motivated to protect themselves, no matter what the cost.

He finally states that the rings, in and of themselves, are not the problem. They are neutral. But our desire to get within them or to rebel against them or to protect them is the problem and defines the madness of natural human behavior, regardless of culture or time. We are people driven by needs of security and significance and, with the exception of one way, these needs usually are expressed in terms of exclusion, protection and rebellion against others, many times disguised as virtue. The human race is naturally bent towards strife and conflict through means it has ironically invented to protect and promote itself. In other words, human nature precludes any chance of world peace, absent a supernatural act of God. Because of these desires, we are all about judgment, prejudice, exclusion, retribution and oppression, because we seek those two things; security and significance. We understand concepts of peace, equality, forgiveness and self-sacrifice, but they are illusive, out of reach, and substituted for counterfeits because, at the foundation, we believe no one is out there to take care of us and we have no one to look after us but ourselves. Of course, that’s what caused the rift between God and man in the first place, but absent Someone shattering this motivation and set of beliefs, history and the news reflect the unavoidable conclusion that, absent this, we don’t stand a chance.

“I Damn Thee!”
“"Stop judging, so that you won't be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, you will be measured.” (Matthew 7:1-2, ISV)

He also told them a parable: "One blind person can't lead another blind person, can he? Both will fall into a ditch, won't they? (Luke 6:38-39, ISV)

Before we get into the text, I have to get this out of the way because so many ‘advocates’ use this verse to justify just about anything. Jesus is not telling us that we can’t recognize immorality because it would be judging. That makes no sense and those that use that text to support whatever banner they are waiving have no idea what they are talking about. Think about it: you have to judge people when you tell them it is wrong to judge. So, they are immediately guilty of leveling guilt when you’re supposedly not supposed to do that in the first place. When someone uses that argument to support whatever indulgence they are pushing, then move along, because you can’t get anywhere with ignorance of that caliber. And because I do not subscribe to that view, I have no problem at all calling that argument ignorant. Alright, now I can get back to business.

I’ve been on the fringe of a lot of rings, so I tend to be the second group of folks who usually hold animosity for rings than a love for them or a need to perpetuate them. Don’t get me wrong, for those of you who have to deal with me personally. I am not planning the overthrow of the establishment or planning a big protest movement. But I have a tendency within me to cheer for the underdog and criticize the establishment. All that means is that I have encountered rejection and I judge, compare and criticize those who judge, compare and criticize.

But even though I am that way, I am in good company. Whether you are Ringleader, lifetime Ring member or Ring reject, you are going to judge others based on vested interest. And our judgments, comparisons and prejudices sooner or later will be used on us without impunity, using the same yard sticks we used on others to see if we fare any better…and we won’t. The word Jesus uses here doesn’t necessarily mean some sort of judicial sentence, but making comparisons and setting others on either higher or lower value positions, compared to you. But by doing so, you end up being compared by God, based on the very standards you used to compare others. So by discriminating against others out of a position of self-righteousness or elitism, leads to a Divine turning of the proverbial worm, look what Jesus says about another kind of discernment.

Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use, you will be measured." (Luke 6:38, ISV)

This is one of the most powerful statements Jesus made. It’s the same concept as judgment but with totally different results. If we are to dispense comparisons and judgments of people, we get to be weighed by the same measuring stick we used with others. But if we dispense the unmerited grace and forgiveness to others that God has given us, then He promises to give us more fulfillment than we could’ve ever imagined. Unfortunately, we tend to find it easier to dispense judgment than forgiveness. That’s because we’re protective, untrusting and unwilling to take that chance. It takes a supernatural intervention to even allow us to take this kind of chance and even then, we struggle. Our natural inclination is distrust and the only difference between a believer and a non-believer is that the believer struggles with this it and the non-believer could care less. The qualification to membership within the Christian church is to recognize you aren’t qualified to ever be a member. But Jesus promises that if you can offer forgiveness to the guy who ruined your reputation or kicked you out of that Inner Ring, you will receive something that makes what you were looking for by getting into that Inner Ring or getting vengeance on the guy who kicked you out, pale in comparison. But you have to trust Him and because you aren’t home yet, you’re going to struggle with it. Do you struggle with this? Rejoice, because this struggle means you’re his and struggling will provide so much more than giving in will. Sometimes it is real hard to do.

When Bill Clinton was going through his Monica controversy, Tony Campolo was asked to be a spiritual counselor to the president. He caught a lot of flack from Christians for doing it and was asked why he would bother offering forgiveness to a guy who probably faked being sorry. He responded with another question: Should we withhold forgiveness from people who might be faking it or offer it anyway? Did Jesus give us conditions to offering forgiveness? Remember what He said as He died on the cross….”Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” If anyone had justification to withhold forgiveness it was Jesus to His accusers. It’s a great point.

Despite the distorted and ridiculous portrayal of Christianity in the media, there are a lot of Christian voices that are very harsh, self-righteous and condemning. Other voices and images seem to only offer a band-aid to a broken arm, with all kinds of elaborate ways of entertaining you along the way. When you get to go behind the curtain and see some of the weird stuff that goes on in churches, there’s about as much weirdness as you’ll find in the corporate headquarters of any given company or any given secular organization…there are just as many Inner Rings within church as there are without. So, is there a difference between us and the world? If you’re looking for a bunch of good, nice, together people, then you probably won’t be able to tell the difference. But put us under incredible circumstances and pressure and you will stand alongside the ancient Romans and ask, “Where does their strength come from?” That strength isn’t from Rings or rebellion against Rings but from the One who is giving us large quantities, pressed together, shaken down and running over. According to Jesus, we are a ragtag bunch of broken people who have accepted Him and are loved. Yeah, we’re hypocrites. But we know it (or we should own up to it) and that’s why we need Him, which is who we are, rather than the condemning counterfeit. Sometimes we portray something else and when the world usually wants to portray a different picture in the first place, many times we fall right into their hands. But our best witness is, of all things, our messiness, rather than preen with righteousness and our strength to get back up, when we ought to just stay down and when we feel like staying down. When we can dispense to others what He lavishly dispenses to us that testimony shines like a bright city on a hill.

“Blind Leading the Blind”
Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:3-5, ISV)

He also told them a parable: "One blind person can't lead another blind person, can he? Both will fall into a ditch, won't they? (Luke 6:39, ISV)

If you judge an Inner Ring for rejecting you, He will use your standard of rejection to see if you fare any better. The same goes if you reject someone from your Inner Ring. If you reject others for not fitting in, He’ll use your standards to see how your square peg fits any better into the round hole. If you condemn someone for being a sexual deviant, He will use your standard of purity to see how well you fare. We already are aware that compared to God’s standard, we all fail dismally (some might argue, but their position is as ignorant as the one who uses Matthew 7:1-2 to justify the most popular indulgence of the moment). But God will not even bother using His standard against us. He is going to use our own standards against ourselves. And folks, if you thought God’s standards were harsh, when compared to our own, there will not be a man, woman or child left standing. (Romans 2)

But in Jesus’ illustration, the only people who can help are the people who have messed up. The one’s that have pulled beams from their eye are the best one’s to give advice about the mote in your own. Never go to someone who’s never messed up before. They can’t help you. And they don’t know anything either. Just like in every other illustration, Jesus is making His own authority stand alone and our ability to keep going on His authority rather than our own. And it means being honest about ourselves. I don’t know how many times I want to impress in order to advertise my abilities to give advice or teach, when God shows up and trips me over my lips and I surprisingly discover that I can be of much more use through embarrassment and humility than I ever could through creating a false image of myself. People who claim they’ve got it together would probably lie about other things as well. Inner Rings that offer security will probably sell you something that won’t work. The desire of watching an Inner Ring implode won’t bring you the happiness you wanted either. That’s because we’ve all got self-placed obstructions in our sight that keep us from seeing the truth about ourselves, let alone others, and keep us from finding what we’re looking for. The way to getting better is to come to grips with the beams in our eyes first, which isn’t our first inclination, but Jesus says it is the only way to go. So, reputations be damned, rather than ourselves.

You Want Justice? Be Careful What You Ask For….
"Never give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs. Otherwise, they will trample them with their feet and then turn around and attack you." (Matthew 7:6, ISV)

One of the saddest times in modern church history was in the late 1980’s when we saw the scandal of PTL and Jimmy Swaggart. I recently read Jim Bakker’s book entitled, “I Was Wrong” and if you haven’t read it, you should, because you will not be able to put it down. The amazing part about that book was Bakker’s admission that he is glad he went through the hell of prison and his own dark night of the soul, without any sign of relief, because it has brought him closer to God than he ever was at the helm of PTL. His is an amazing testimony of a guy who had no choice but to deal with beam in his eye and discover the incredible grace of God, even if it meant all the hell to get him there. In that book, there was another scandal, that of Jimmy Swaggart, that was also incredible. When the PTL scandal broke, Jimmy Swaggart came on television and publicly denounced Jim Bakker as a crook and all kinds of other harsh things. But within a few months of the harsh condemnation, Swaggart was caught purchasing services from a prostitute and his ministry took a nose dive, in which he eventually came in front of the cameras and gave his own ‘mea culpa’.

Jesus tells us sin this passage that even though the law of God is holy and as precious as pearls, we can’t measure up and if we think we can dispense this holy justice to the world, it is like trying to feed wild jaguars raw meat. In other words, that route isn’t one we ought to take, because the consequences can be awful. Look at Jim Bakker. Even though the official charges against him were overturned, he admits to a lot of other things that not too many people paid as close attention to. But look how the world turned on him. Do you remember the press who followed him to his lawyer’s office, where he had the mental breakdown? The images of a grown man crying in handcuffs, with snot dripping from his nose, flashbulbs popping and pictures published in almost every newspaper and shown on almost every television news program. It says more about the fierceness, deadliness and destructiveness of the human heart than it does about the wrongdoing of a preacher. Forget all the talk about the human potential movement. You want to see our potential, take a look at what we did to a man that was already down and out. I don’t think anyone in my lifetime has ever been as publicly humiliated as Jim Bakker…and he says he wouldn’t change a thing! I stand with the ancient Romans and ask, “Where does his strength come from?”

Matters of justice are far more serious than we ever imagined. Our standing, not just with God’s standards but especially with our own, fall far short of any expectations we have for others. One verse that really sums up Jesus’ teaching comes from Romans 11:32, “For God has locked all people in the prison of their own disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” And again in Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

There are ultimately only two Inner Rings that exist which matches the two types of people that exist: 1) those that are messed up and know it, reaching for God’s mercy and 2) those that are messed up and pretend they aren’t. There is no category of self-righteous human authority and if there were, just remember our history of doling out justice in order to realize that it is mercy we need and it is mercy that is offered. But unless we own up to the truth about ourselves and the folly of Inner Rings, we won’t think we need it and won’t receive it. This is what makes the Good News, such good news. God wants to show us His mercy and has demonstrated it more than it could be demonstrated by giving us His only Son.

Lewis closes his speech to the students at King’s College with this, “To a young person, just entering on adult life, the world seems full of ‘insides,’ full of delightful intimacies and confidentialities, and he desires to enter them. But if he follows that desire, he will reach no ‘inside’ that is worth reaching. The true road lies in quite another direction. It is like the house in Alice Through the Looking Glass.” Basically, he was saying that ultimate reality....The Kingdom...is antithetical to the unspoken rules and rings of our understanding. Just do a study on Jesus' words, deeds, friendships, etc. They always ran antithetical to basic understanding. He wasn't for Inner Rings or against them. He purposefully made Himself oblivious to them, and focused on each individual, without any hesitation for acceptance. Lewis closed with the incredible insight to Jesus and His Kingdom, with regards to these rings.....when you become oblivious to them, you mysteriouslybecome a ring unto yourself. The only way to become oblivious to Inner Rings, is to accept Jesus' invitation to take His yoke and His rest. Then, whatever gain or loss the Inner Rings may have had, disappear like mist and it also has power to change you as well as all the rings surrounding you.