Exclusive

           Carl Sandburg was one of the twentieth century’s most noted American authors. As an author, Sandburg valued the meaning of words.  Toward the end of his life, a TV reporter asked him this question. “What, in your opinion, is the ugliest word in the English language?”

           At first Sandburg paused, pondering his response; then he said, “The ugliest word in the English language is ‘exclusive.’”

           That’s not the word most of us would have chosen, is it? Most of us would have picked one of those ugly four letter words that cause folks to blush or get angry.  In fact, exclusive is quite often a word of privilege, denoting prosperity or success. Rich people and important people belong to exclusive clubs. Only the most intelligent students get accepted into exclusive colleges, and journalists win Pulitzer prizes for getting those exclusive stories.  Exclusive is not usually found in our list of dirty words unless, of course, we’re the one being excluded.

           Many of us know the ugliness of exclusion, don’t we? We know what it feels like to be excluded because we’re not smart enough, rich enough, white enough, or educated enough. We know how ugly it makes us feel when people exclude us because we live in a rural county or a one-stoplight-town.  Come to think about it, Sandburg is probably right. Exclusive may well be the ugliest word in the English language. 

           Unlike many first-century religious leaders, Jesus excluded no one.  Jesus included tax collectors and Romans, prostitutes and adulteresses. He included demon-possessed people and those with multiple divorces. He included men and women, slaves and freedmen, Samaritans, Gentiles, Jews and Ethiopians. Not surprisingly, Jesus was often criticized because he was too inclusive of those society and religion rejected. In the end, Jesus’ liberal policy of inclusion caused him to be nailed to a cross. 

           The Apostle Paul summarizes Jesus’ gospel of inclusion in Romans 10:13 as he writes, “Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

           “Whosoever,” that King James Bible word is an interesting term, isn’t it? “Whosoever” means that no one is excluded from the grace of the gospel.

           For the life of me, I don’t see why Paul’s simple statement is so hard to understand. The Bible is clear. Jesus Christ excludes no one and if we are his followers, he expects the same of us. 

           But truth be known, the church has a hard time getting a hold of that truth. Sadly, throughout history, the church has had an ugly track record of excluding people who may be a little bit different. 

           In the first century, the church tried to exclude Gentiles. In Martin Luther’s day, the church excluded those who disagreed with the Pope. In the seventeenth century, Copernicus, Galileo and other scientists were excluded from the church because they insisted the earth rotated around the sun. Even here in America, Puritans excluded people for all sorts of reasons; for wearing colored clothing or for celebrating Christmas. 

           When I was a child, my home church excluded people who danced. When I entered the ministry, churches in the American south excluded African Americans; and today the church continues its exclusive history by excluding people on the basis of their gender, their race, their sexuality, and even their political affiliation. 

           Somewhere down the road, we Christians must come to grips with this biblical word “whosoever.”  We must remember that in the gospel of Jesus Christ, exclusive is, indeed, the ugliest word. 

           And what is the most beautiful word? Perhaps it’s “inclusive” or maybe it’s “Jesus.” Come to think about it, they both mean the same, don’t they?