Have you ever been asked a question that was worded in such a way that you could not answer the question as stated? "Either or" questions are often like that. For instance, I might ask you the question, "Are you interested in improving your relationship with your spouse or are you interested in improving your relationship with you children?" Well, which is it? As you can well see, this is not a fair question. It creates a false division. It assumes that you cannot desire to improve your relationship with both your spouse and your children. However, hopefully we want to improve our relationship with both our spouse and our children and we need not choose between the two.Recently, I have heard some statements similar to the above question. Some seem to be suggesting that we must choose between being doctrinally pure and being compassionate. For instance, when asked how to handle the issue of divorce and remarriage in a congregation, one preacher said the following: "You must decide what business you are in. You are either in the business of defining or defending doctrine, or you are in the business of changing lives." Now I beg to differ with this man's assessment. I don't believe that this is a choice that must be made. I don't believe that striving for doctrinal purity and being compassionate are mutually exclusive.
Both doctrinal purity and compassion are noble goals that are worthy of being pursued. Just check out the following passages (Galatians 1:8-9; Ephesians 4:32). Since both are noble goals, which one should we pursue? Which one is better? Do you think God would call us to pursue two worthy goals that were mutually exclusive of each other? Such a contradiction could not be harmonized with the nature of the God we serve.
Doctrinal purity and compassion are not poles apart as some would seem to suggest. In fact they must go hand in hand. What good would it do if I knew all the answers to doctrinal questions, and yet would not show compassion to my fellow man (James 2:13)? And what good would it do if I was compassionate to my fellow man but had little regard for the will of God (Matthew 7:21-23)? Rather than being goals between which we must choose, doctrinal purity and compassion cannot be separated.
Jesus best exemplified this truth. In Mark 10:17-22, we read of when the rich young ruler came to Jesus, asking him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus, knowing his heart, knowing his attachment to money, told him he must sell all that he had and give to the poor. Upon hearing this answer, the rich young ruler went away sorrowful. In this case, Jesus demanded doctrinal purity. The demands were strenuous. He didn't compromise the truth any to make it easier for this young man. Dare we charge the Lord with lacking compassion? We had better not. In fact, take a closer look at the text. What was Jesus thinking just before he stated this difficult truth? "Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him..."
Whether to uphold truth or be compassionate were not choices Jesus made, and neither should we. Rather, we need desperately to grow in both doctrinal purity and compassion toward those who need it.
