Love First, Ask Questions Later

        You’ve probably heard the saying, “Shoot first, and ask questions later.” It’s supposed to be some sort of macho creed, something along the lines of, “Kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out.” The idea behind the former quote is that in the cult of violence (of which just about everyone in our culture is a member, whether we like it or not), one’s first instinct when challenged ought to be to use force. Questions of justice, the motivation and legitimate concerns of the other party can come later, if at all. One’s primary concern ought always to be self-preservation, using whatever degree of violence it takes to reach that goal.

        As Christians, we need to repudiate this mindset wholeheartedly. Our creed must be, “Love first, and ask questions later.” We have been called not to self-preservation, which very often requires violence, but rather to self-surrender, which always requires faith and love. Just as the “Shoot first” people rely on their violent instincts, we must develop an instinct of love. Questions of whether or not we feel like expressing love, whether or not the other person deserves love, whether or not we have the time for love, and so on, are moot. Jesus has commanded us to love others regardless of any other considerations. Period. End of story.

        We find our motivation in Paul’s letter to the Romans. He explains to his readers that “while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6-8).

        We had absolutely nothing going for us. We were weak, sinful and, as Paul says elsewhere, we were enemies of God. We had done nothing to deserve God’s love—in fact, we had done everything to deserve God’s wrath.

        And yet...and yet….

        It is that “and yet” that gives us hope. It is that “and yet” that delivers us from our slavery to sin and death. It is that “and yet” that motivates us to treat others the way God has treated us. By loving them first and asking questions later.

        There are too many Christians today who think they can set limits to their love. They make their circle just wide enough to include those who think and believe the same way they do; who fall into the same economic and social categories they do; who are members of their race, gender, or political party; who shower regularly, use mouthwash, and don’t smoke or drink; who never hurt their feelings; who do not commit the unforgivable sins of being fat or ugly or gay. Anyone who falls outside the confines of that narrow circle is out of luck.

        But Jesus came to erase all our boundary lines. He came to cut down all the hedges we plant to separate ourselves from our neighbors and other outsiders. He came to touch lepers, embrace tax collectors, forgive prostitutes, and invite the lame, blind, and deaf to the great feast of the commonwealth of God. None of these people deserved God’s love. And yet….

        What might help us in our efforts to fathom and then to share this extraordinary love is to remind ourselves of something we find it convenient to forget. We need to remind ourselves regularly that we were once blind, lame, and deaf. We were once crooks and lepers. We were once one of the untouchables, the great unwashed. And look at what Jesus has done for us: he has forgiven us, washed us clean, and pulled out a chair for us at the feast table in God’s commonwealth. When we remember how far we’ve come and how little we deserve to have come this far, we may find it a little bit easier to love first and leave off the questions and circle-drawing and hedge-planting altogether.