Ask Cooper Anything 4: Christian Legalism

"We see a lot of Christian legalism in our culture. Many people create extra rules about being a Christian. For example, can Christians get tattoos? Can Christians drink, smoke, or gamble? Listen to secular music? Send their kids to day care? Read Harry Potter (gasp!). What do you think about Christian legalism?"
- Gina C.

Christian legalism in an interesting topic.  The term legalism is defined as "strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit."  In Christian terms, it is more specifically defined as "the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works."

On the one hand, I completely and unquestionably reject the idea that salvation is gained through works.  The Bible says that good works are the result of your salvation, not the cause of it.  I don't believe there is enough time in our lives to do enough good works to earn our way to Heaven.  We're not able to live perfect enough lives to undo the sins we've committed.  We're saved through grace, through the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross, not through anything we can do.

The question of whether or not we should do certain things then becomes an issue of purity.  If we're following Christ, we're aspiring to live as pure a life as we can, not to earn our way to Heaven, but to grow in relationship to God and to allow ourselves to best be used by God for His kingdom.  God also has certain laws in place because they protect us.  If you stay sexually pure, remaining faithful to your spouse, you are more likely to have a peaceful, harmonious marriage.  If you have many partners, and then get married but are unfaithful, you are more likely to have problems, issues, and pain in your relationships and in your life.  The commandment to not commit adultery is not to limit you from pleasure, it is to protect you from hardships, and to give you the best experience you can have.  Having sex outside of marriage and committing adultery will not take away your salvation, but it may bring impurity and pain to your life, and damage your current and future relationships, including your earthly relationship with God.

We are meant to enjoy life, I do believe, but we must consider the side effects of our decisions when it comes to what we allow ourselves to do.  Here's a rundown of what I believe in regard to these specific issues.  There may be a theme here.

Alcohol.  I don't drink - I recently turned 32 years old, and I've never had a drink of alcohol.  This is simply a choice I've made.  It may once have been due to a belief that there was something inherently bad about alcohol, but now it's just a lack of curiosity.  I don't see anything wrong with having a drink.  Remember, even Jesus drank wine in the Bible.  So having a drink is fine, but you must know what you're dealing with, and you must know your limits.  The Bible says drunkenness is sinful, and I understand why.  Drunkenness leads to foolish behavior, and sometimes to terrible life-changing (or life-ending) decisions.  Of course, alcoholism has ruined lives and families when it leads to abuse and neglect.  Drinking to get drunk is foolish, and should not be done, because the side effects can be catastrophic.  Simply enjoying a beer or a glass of wine, though, is just fine.


Tattoos.  I don't have a tattoo either, and I have no plans of it.  I just have no desire to do such a thing.  However, I really don't see any problem with people getting them, as long as they are sensible and not impure.  I will sometimes consider what kind of tattoo I would get if I were to get one, even though I never will.  It would likely be a simple cross of some sort, probably on my upper arm, or something like that.  I don't see anything wrong with such tattoos.  However, getting a naked lady tattooed on your arm is a different story.  I think it relates to what message you're trying to send with your tattoo.  It's a simliar question to what kind of T-shirt you should wear.  I won't wear a Playboy T-shirt, and I won't tattoo anything similar on my body.  So, when considering a tattoo, consider these questions: Does the tattoo send the right message?  Does it fit in with the pure Christian life?  What would Jesus think of your tattoo?  What would you think if your kid came home with that tattoo?

Gambling.  This is another one of those things that depends on how it's done.  My wife and I have been to Las Vegas, even though neither of us drink or gamble.  (We just like to walk through the hotels and eat at buffets.)  We did each play a dollar on a slot machine just to do it.  I've also played $20 on a video poker machine (which I lost).  If you look at it as just a form of entertainment, then I think the money spent is just like buying a ticket to a movie or a sporting event.  Really, it could be considered gambling any time you put something of value down in the hopes of earning a return on your investment, though there is a chance (low or high, depending on the circumstances) that you will lose your initial investment entirely.  Even churches will hold raffles.  The problem isn't simply that you're risking some money.  The problem comes when people lose control, and they gamble away their money until it destroys their life.  Sure, you may get lucky, but casinos aren't rich because most people win.  They've rigged the system to ensure that most people lose, while just enough people win to give the rest hope enough to keep coming back with their money.  God wants us to be good stewards of His money, and gambling it all away is certainly not doing that, but neither is spending all of your money on other things.  There are a million ways to be foolish with your financial assets, and excessive gambling is just one.  I say, as long as you tithe your income and otherwise use your money wisely, there's no reason to say that gambling as a whole is a sinful activity.  If you go to a casino to go gambling, let it just be a hobby or a form of entertainment.  Be wise about the money you take, budgeting that money responsibly, and then know when to walk away. 


Smoking.  Here's one I'm going to come down a bit harder on.  Admission: I find the whole concept of smoking to be repulsive and disgusting, and I could probably fill a book just with my thoughts on it.  It's a habit that not only causes cancer and other life threatening or limiting conditions, it fills the air with a wretched odor that sticks to your clothes and furniture.  That all being said: I suppose, if you smoke in such a way that it won't affect other non-smokers, it's fine.  Here is the part I find to be sinful: when you smoke in such a way that you make other people inhale your secondhand smoke, exposing them to the harmful chemicals.  Parents who smoke around their children ought to be ashamed of themselves.  Not only are there great health risks with smoking, and a terribly offensive odor that infiltrates everything around it, allowing oneself to become so dependent on something (other than God) is quite unhealthy.  Whether it be cigarettes, or alcohol, or pornography, or video games, or any activity or person or thing, addictions are dangerous and unhealthy.  I completely understand that they are very difficult to break, but I believe that any addiction can be broken, and that God will be your strength when the cravings come.  Smoking is sinful when it causes issues to other people.  Even if you're smoking in such a way where that never happens, smoking may or may not be sinful, but it is certainly never wise.  I can see fine reasons to have a drink or get a tattoo, but smoking is one of those things that there is never a sensible reason to pick up or keep the habit.

Harry Potter.  I'll start off by saying this: I've read all the Harry Potter books and seen all the movies.  I've read and seen Lord of the Rings, and many other fantasy books, movies, and television shows that deal with magic.  I've even written a couple fantasy novels that deal with magic.  I've played Everquest and Diablo, along with many other games where magic is a central part of the story.  I don't see any issues with enjoying these things for what they are: entertainment.  The Bible is certainly clear about the evils of witchcraft, but that's witchcraft in real life.  These are stories placed in fantastical worlds where magic has many purposes, both for good and evil.  It can be a weapon for a wizard, just like a sword can be a weapon for a soldier.  Magical worlds are simply the settings used for fantasy fiction, and nothing more than that.  Magical worlds can be used for great Christian allegory, like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.  As long as you enjoy it as entertainment, as a hobby, keeping it its proper place, I have no concerns.  If you decide to become a witch or a wizard in real life, or dabble in other things you're not supposed to, then the fault lies in your decision making, and your ability to differentiate the real from the fictional.

Secular music.  I made a decision a long time ago to only own and listen to Christian music.  The only exceptions to this are soundtracks (I love movie music) and Weird Al Yankovic.  Because he's hilarious.  (And his music is really quite clean).  There was a time when I owned several secular CDs - my favorite at the time was one by Hootie and the Blowfish.  But I sold them all at some point.  That all being said, as with most of these subjects, I don't think the concept of secular music is wrong, but I do think we need to be careful of the kind of music and words we're allowing to flow through our brain (and the brains of our kids).  There is a lot of secular music that glamorizes sinful behavior, and is full of messages that simply don't jive with the Christian view of purity.  I don't want to be driving down the road, singing along to the radio, singing words that objectify women or otherwise completely go against what I believe.  So I would say this: be careful of the secular music you're listening to, and make sure that its message is pure.  Would Jesus like that song?  Would He have it on His iPod?  Would you want your children listening to that song, singing the lyrics themselves?  Would you take the words from that song and wear a T-shirt with the lyrics printed on it?

Day care.  I don't see any real issues with day care.  This is more of a choice that parents make, and the best choice depends on the circumstances.  Some situations, like being a single parent, often means there is only one choice.  If you are going to send your kid to day care, however, I think there are two things to consider.  First, you need to make sure you spend lots of time with your kids when you get home from work.  Kids need time with their parents, and having them away for a good chunk of the day means you need to spend more time with them when you can.  Second, be very careful when selecting which day care facility to send your children to.  Make sure that place will not be filling their heads with things you don't want.  If we end up having children one day, we will most likely not send them much to day care, but that's the choice that we feel (presently) makes the most sense for our family. 

This world is full of things that are sinful, and we do need to be careful with what we do, but I think we can also be too overly cautious.  We just need to make sure the things we do don't fly in the face of the life God wants us to live.