Can You Be Over-Inclusive?

Luke 9:1-6 Jesus called his twelve apostles together. He gave them power to heal sicknesses and power to force demons out of people. He sent them to tell about God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. He said to them, “When you travel, don’t take a walking stick. Also, don’t carry a bag, food, or money. Take for your trip only the clothes you are wearing. When you go into a house, stay there until it is time to leave. If the people in the town will not welcome you, go outside the town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.” So the apostles went out. They travelled through all the towns. They told the Good News and healed people everywhere.

Diversity and inclusion are very highly valued commodities in this day and age. But here’s a question: is it possible to be overly inclusive? Is there a point at which you should give up on someone?

I saw a social media post by a Christian recently. He said: At the end of the day, I’d rather be excluded for who I include, than be included for who I exclude.

One of the toughest decisions we all need to make in life is who to include and who to exclude in our lives. Sure, Jesus chose to dine with tax collectors and prostitutes. But He also said this:

Luke 9:1-6 Jesus called his twelve apostles together. He gave them power to heal sicknesses and power to force demons out of people. He sent them to tell about God’s kingdom and to heal the sick. He said to them, “When you travel, don’t take a walking stick. Also, don’t carry a bag, food, or money. Take for your trip only the clothes you are wearing. When you go into a house, stay there until it is time to leave. If the people in the town will not welcome you, go outside the town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.” So the apostles went out. They travelled through all the towns. They told the Good News and healed people everywhere.

We should never shun people because of their sin, or discriminate based on race, colour, creed, disability and so on … but neither should we compromise the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness in the name of inclusion. God is the One who gets to tell us what’s sin and what’s not. Don’t water down the Gospel.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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