The simple answer (HA!) is that Christians understand (at least some do) that we are saved by grace not by how good we are.
1. We strive to be "good" in response to God loving us and thus we can live a better life and hurt fewer people. The Bible isn't shy about telling us about the consequences of breaking the standard of "thy shall not commit adultery". David's life was destroyed and he could only find solace in God's forgiveness Psalm 51.
2. Failure to live up to God's standards in some area plagues all Christians. The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Judging by the anecdotal evidence--the behavior of myself and other Christians--that verse continues to be true even after we accept God's forgiveness in Christ. If we were good enough to live up to the standards, we wouldn't need the grace--the forgiveness afforded in the cross. I don't need God if I can do it on my own.
3. We as humans are complicated....our pride keeps us from truly surrendering to God, so I pick particular sins of others, the one I don't commit, and pound them so I can feel "right" before God. Jesus talked about "picking the splinter out of your brothers eye when you have a log in your own." Basically it works like this: if I can call attention to what others are doing, then I don't have to recognize or deal with my own sin.
4. Taking moral stands can have the underlying effect of making me feel morally superior and thus I can see myself as better than the "sinners" and feel I have the right to be at the front of the line with God. (the Elder brother syndrome in the story of the Prodigal God, Luke 15; and the story of the laborers in the vineyard Matthew 20; and the story of Pharisee adn Tax Collector Luke 18)
5. Also, many times the sin that we rail against is the sin that plagues us internally and we preach against it, condemn those who do it as a way to keep ourselves in line.
So yes I admit it, we are hypocrites! Politics and religion breed them... but not everytime! That's the hazard of taking a stand for moral values. But my failures don't change God's love as preached and lived so imperfectly by his people. My failures don't change the God who wants the best for us.
So I cannot claim the high moral ground, I can only tell others that I see it and will reach it some day in the Kingdom of God.
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3 comments:
In my journey I have seen that EVERY person is battling something in their life. It might be a predisposition to an unhealthy vice or an illness. Either way, it serves as a thorn in our side to remind us that each of us needs the gracious and undeserved gift of Jesus. Since every person is fighting something, then none of us is truly superior to another. I am just as messed up as the next guy ... some people just hide it from view better (for a while at least).
Well said!
If flawed people ,like us,don't continue to reach for the high ground and encourage others to do the same who will. I can assure you I won't be throwing stones any time soon
Well said!
If flawed people ,like us,don't continue to reach for the high ground and encourage others to do the same who will. I can assure you I won't be throwing stones any time soon
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