Many of us who seek God are perfectionists. We want to be as good as possible. What's wrong with that?
Let's consider one area where we could excel: the world of knowledge and facts. When it comes to facts, we make every honest effort to be accurate. Accuracy is a good goal; it shouldn't lead us wrong. But the quest to be error-free can lead to fault-finding.
When it comes to people -- including ourselves -- the risk is much greater. The quest to be error-free can lead our minds to cultivate a constant stream of evaluations and judgments. A perfectionist attitude looks at our own actions (or those of others) to find something wrong. Perfectionism easily becomes an instrument of hurt, of attack. When perfection causes harm, perfection isn't even good.
Showing posts with label mercy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mercy. Show all posts
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Original sin, original grace?
The following passage is frequently quoted as establishing the doctrine of original sin:
Paul develops the theme with the familiar Hebrew "how much more" style of logic: if a single act by a bad man can have bad consequences worldwide, how much more does the single gift of God have redeeming consequences worldwide.
Most Christian thought shows no real doubt about everyone's sinfulness. But whether Christ's grace reaches out to all, some express doubt. With Christ, many see "if" and "unless" and other limits to the grace that comes through Christ. The mental list of exceptions pile up for how the consequences of Christ's act aren't quite as wide-scoped as the consequences of Adam's act. In effect, we think "How much less" Christ accomplishes than Adam. But Paul's point was the opposite: How much more.
We act as if the sin of Adam was greater than the righteousness of Christ, or as if the sin of man might have further reach than the grace of God. So next time someone discusses Romans 5 as if the main point is original sin, remember Paul's point in bringing up the original sin: to show how small a thing it was next to God's grace:
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, for all have sinned ... (Romans 5:12, though the whole passage is instructive)But Paul's point in this passage, overwhelmingly, is that Christ's goodness far surpasses Adam's badness, that Christ's righteousness eclipses Adam's unrighteousness, that "the gift is not like the trespass".
Paul develops the theme with the familiar Hebrew "how much more" style of logic: if a single act by a bad man can have bad consequences worldwide, how much more does the single gift of God have redeeming consequences worldwide.
Most Christian thought shows no real doubt about everyone's sinfulness. But whether Christ's grace reaches out to all, some express doubt. With Christ, many see "if" and "unless" and other limits to the grace that comes through Christ. The mental list of exceptions pile up for how the consequences of Christ's act aren't quite as wide-scoped as the consequences of Adam's act. In effect, we think "How much less" Christ accomplishes than Adam. But Paul's point was the opposite: How much more.
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many. (Romans 5:15)
We act as if the sin of Adam was greater than the righteousness of Christ, or as if the sin of man might have further reach than the grace of God. So next time someone discusses Romans 5 as if the main point is original sin, remember Paul's point in bringing up the original sin: to show how small a thing it was next to God's grace:
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19)
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Christian Sinners: Hallowed Be God's Name
I internalize and cover up my sin and weakness because I fear that any failure on my part implies a failure of Christianity.Of all the ways in which we Christians discredit Christ, our failure to forgive non-Christians may be the most serious; our failure to confess our own sins is part of the same mindset.
When we Christians sin -- when we morally fail -- we do bring public discredit on Christ's name because we bear his name. But hiding the sin restores nothing; it just adds deception and hypocrisy to our repertoire of familiar sins. The way to restore God's honor is to confess, to publicly humble ourselves, to publicly exalt his forgiveness. When we hold up our sins as ours alone and take responsibility for them, when we hold up his mercy as his alone and publicly praise and glorify him, then even our failures announce the good news. When we exalt ourselves, even our successes bring no credit to God.
Time after time we lose our opportunity to announce the gospel to the world: the good news of forgiveness for precisely times like these, times when we have humiliated ourselves and failed painfully and lost all claim to be trusted or seen as worthy. These are the times when people outside the church can best relate to us, times when we could really explain Christ in a way that makes sense to the world at large. And we do not.
Sometimes cover-ups are made rather than firm condemnations of wrongdoing, as with Rome's approach in the notorious "pedophile priest" scandals. In a case with no humility and no accountability, the so-called forgiveness seems anti-justice and hopelessly self-serving.
The evangelical camp has known its secrecy and hushed-up sins too, but has often gone to the opposite extreme: when someone sins and falls publicly, there has at times been a rush to condemn not only the sin but also the fallen person, even in cases of genuine repentance. For people who say we bet our lives and eternities on God's forgiveness through Christ, who count on being redeemed and our sins forgotten, we don't always act like it.
In this age where a lax attitude towards sin is part of the culture, where upholding the reality of right and wrong is part of our struggle, I have to wonder: has forgiveness been a casualty of the culture war? Have we upheld grace and mercy in the same way we have upheld the law? I wonder how much of the hesitancy to proclaim forgiveness to the sinners within our own ranks is because we fear being seen as self-serving, because we fear the abuse of forgiveness, or because we fear being weak in our stand against sin.
Repentance and forgiveness separate the sinner from the sin. Repentance allows us, when we are guilty, to give up excuses and be adamant that our own sin was wrong. It allows us to once again say that right is right and wrong is wrong, abandoning the deception that comes with defending or hiding our mistakes. It is a return to honesty, a freedom from blame-shifting. In repentance we separate ourselves from our own sins, gaining the moral courage to denounce our own sins.
Forgiveness allows us to show that hope to a sinner. It shows freedom from deception. It shows how to condemn the wrong that we did without abandoning all hope for ourselves. It gives hope for redemption and restoration. More than that, forgiveness is an opportunity for us to show love: to show that a human being made in God's image is valuable in our sight, better to be redeemed than condemned.
There is a "gotcha" mentality in the media, where the press goes back and forth like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Next time our enemy falls into the lion's mouth, that would be a really good time for us to offer a word of redemption. Hallowed be God's name.
H/T to Mark at Pseudo-Polymath for a good read of the article containing the lead quote by Matt K. at Common Grounds. As they say, read it all.
I had put on a glossy façade, feigning invincibility and faultlessness. I never revealed my weakness and humanness and thus was not a real person. He saw me as a fake, like a mannequin in Christianity’s window display. My friend’s assessment was right on- my pride and fear kept me from really loving him at all.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
As We Forgive
“As we forgive those who sin against us” – that is part of our daily prayers as a Christian; we call for mercy only in the same breath as we forgive others. Forgiveness can be such a struggle. Often, it is beyond me and I need help. As I endure malice from others, often malice forms inside me in reaction. Poison. Where does help come from? How can I love better and think better?
My pastor taught me to look at the Lord’s Prayer as the prayer I would pray wholeheartedly if my soul were what it should be, grown fully to the image of God in Christ. So I turn to it for help. The other petitions show me how I can forgive. That is not to say that is their purpose; but it is to say that they give me more strength and wisdom than is my own and show me more of God's mind than I yet possess.
How can I forgive? I can't do it for myself but I can do it for our Father. I does not serve my honor but the honor of God’s name. Forgiving does not establish myself as above over the other, but it does work for the coming of His kingdom, for His will on earth, not just in heaven. I have to remember that I am a sinner too. It removing the temptation to bitterness and hatred, and delivers us both from the Evil One.
And if that only quiets my self-righteousness some – because my unforgivingness is too often only self-righteousness – then I try again.
Some people would see forgiveness as wrong, as pretending sin is right. It is not that; that confuses “forgiving” and “excusing” – if it were right, it would not need forgiving. Forgiveness only applies to what is truly wrong, make no mistake. But I want to let God alone have credit as the righteous one and the holy one. I want to keep myself far from taking advantage of someone else’s failings to claim superiority over them.
Then I can really pray, "Lord have mercy on me, a sinner."
My pastor taught me to look at the Lord’s Prayer as the prayer I would pray wholeheartedly if my soul were what it should be, grown fully to the image of God in Christ. So I turn to it for help. The other petitions show me how I can forgive. That is not to say that is their purpose; but it is to say that they give me more strength and wisdom than is my own and show me more of God's mind than I yet possess.
How can I forgive? I can't do it for myself but I can do it for our Father. I does not serve my honor but the honor of God’s name. Forgiving does not establish myself as above over the other, but it does work for the coming of His kingdom, for His will on earth, not just in heaven. I have to remember that I am a sinner too. It removing the temptation to bitterness and hatred, and delivers us both from the Evil One.
And if that only quiets my self-righteousness some – because my unforgivingness is too often only self-righteousness – then I try again.
Some people would see forgiveness as wrong, as pretending sin is right. It is not that; that confuses “forgiving” and “excusing” – if it were right, it would not need forgiving. Forgiveness only applies to what is truly wrong, make no mistake. But I want to let God alone have credit as the righteous one and the holy one. I want to keep myself far from taking advantage of someone else’s failings to claim superiority over them.
Then I can really pray, "Lord have mercy on me, a sinner."
Monday, February 27, 2006
Let Mercy be the Measure
"In the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Matthew 7:2)
Once, back when I had a job that paid very little money, I backed into someone else's truck in the parking lot of the place where I worked. My car was so beat up that you really couldn't notice that it had been hurt. But the truck -- it belonged to the owner, and it was a very nice truck. I went to find him and tell him, hardly knowing where I would find money to pay the deductible on my insurance, but knowing I had to try. The damage to his truck was not so much, less than the amount of my deductible. But that meant I would somehow have to find all the money myself, and I did not know how. But the owner knew my paycheck. He knew whether I could afford to pay. And he told me: Don't worry about it. He would pay for the repair himself. That kind of money was a little enough thing to him. Before that day, I had never really appreciated the owner of the company. After that day, I loved him for his kindness.
In that case, the mercy that I was shown actually cost the other person some money. But in most cases, what does mercy really cost us? Are we really any poorer for forgiving another person? What have we lost when we forgive somebody?
Consider this: we love best those people who have been merciful to us. Maybe we made a mistake, and they never told a single soul. Maybe we said an unkind thing that we regretted, and they never repeated it. Maybe they had a chance to make life difficult for us because of our faults, and they passed up that chance. Haven't we loved them for it?
Consider this: we will never be loved for long by someone who is not merciful. We make mistakes. We are short-tempered and self-centered more often than we realize. We are impatient and insensitive. We are ignorant and apathetic towards things which should fill our heart. We need forgiveness continually. Someone who does not forgive will soon become impatient with us.
Consider this: we will never find another person that we love for long if we are not merciful. We will become angry and resentful. We will harbor bitterness and suspicion. Our long memories will whisper poison into our hearts that will kill our love. Malice and rage are only a short step away from the one who does not have mercy towards others.
Mercy is characteristic of the wisdom from heaven. "The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy." (James 3:17)
Mercy is a gift of God's Spirit. "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." (Rom 12:6-8)
God, in his mercy, has loved us. He has washed us clean. We who were orphans in this world, he has adopted as his own. We who were strangers, he has welcomed to his table. We who were needy he has helped. This is love: that God loved us first. As his children, it's not for us to be small-minded and worldly, grudging others the same forgiveness we have received, as if we who have received favor had somehow deserved it.
Few things are more difficult than forgiving when we are wronged. Few things are more valuable.
Once, back when I had a job that paid very little money, I backed into someone else's truck in the parking lot of the place where I worked. My car was so beat up that you really couldn't notice that it had been hurt. But the truck -- it belonged to the owner, and it was a very nice truck. I went to find him and tell him, hardly knowing where I would find money to pay the deductible on my insurance, but knowing I had to try. The damage to his truck was not so much, less than the amount of my deductible. But that meant I would somehow have to find all the money myself, and I did not know how. But the owner knew my paycheck. He knew whether I could afford to pay. And he told me: Don't worry about it. He would pay for the repair himself. That kind of money was a little enough thing to him. Before that day, I had never really appreciated the owner of the company. After that day, I loved him for his kindness.
In that case, the mercy that I was shown actually cost the other person some money. But in most cases, what does mercy really cost us? Are we really any poorer for forgiving another person? What have we lost when we forgive somebody?
Consider this: we love best those people who have been merciful to us. Maybe we made a mistake, and they never told a single soul. Maybe we said an unkind thing that we regretted, and they never repeated it. Maybe they had a chance to make life difficult for us because of our faults, and they passed up that chance. Haven't we loved them for it?
Consider this: we will never be loved for long by someone who is not merciful. We make mistakes. We are short-tempered and self-centered more often than we realize. We are impatient and insensitive. We are ignorant and apathetic towards things which should fill our heart. We need forgiveness continually. Someone who does not forgive will soon become impatient with us.
Consider this: we will never find another person that we love for long if we are not merciful. We will become angry and resentful. We will harbor bitterness and suspicion. Our long memories will whisper poison into our hearts that will kill our love. Malice and rage are only a short step away from the one who does not have mercy towards others.
Mercy is characteristic of the wisdom from heaven. "The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy." (James 3:17)
Mercy is a gift of God's Spirit. "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." (Rom 12:6-8)
God, in his mercy, has loved us. He has washed us clean. We who were orphans in this world, he has adopted as his own. We who were strangers, he has welcomed to his table. We who were needy he has helped. This is love: that God loved us first. As his children, it's not for us to be small-minded and worldly, grudging others the same forgiveness we have received, as if we who have received favor had somehow deserved it.
Few things are more difficult than forgiving when we are wronged. Few things are more valuable.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Essential Bible Verses for the Overwhelmed
- My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)
- Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
- He restores my soul. (Psalm 23:3)
- Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit. (Zechariah 4:6)
- Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
- Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5)
- Cast your anxieties on him, for he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
- The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. (Philippians 4:5-6)
- He will wipe every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 21:4)
- To him who overcomes, I will give of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.(Revelation 2:17)
- I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25)
- In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)
Update: More here, collection of notes for hard times
Saturday, August 27, 2005
God's Investment in the World
When I read the parable of the talents (see Matthew 25 beginning at verse 14), when I ask myself, "What has God given me?", I think I usually miss the point. My focus is too easily on myself and my abilities, and I don't think this was Jesus' point at all.
Jesus spoke the parable of the talents in Jerusalem during the days immediately before his arrest. In Matthew's account, this parable follows immediately after two other parables which are basically "parables of the long absence" -- parables whose main point is that Jesus will be gone from this world longer than anyone expects. After the first two parables address the havoc that his long absence causes amongst his followers, this last parable finally speaks of servants who were productive during their Lord's absence, during which he went away to be crowned king. The master gives his servants each a certain number of "talents" while he is away.
And here, I think, is where I often start to go wrong and imagine that the "talents" are really something about me. Back in the day, a "talent" was an amount of money. The story uses the earthly image of making investments for a profit. But what is the investment the servants should make? What is the "talent"? What is it that Jesus has given us, particularly what was it that he gave us right before he went on his "long journey to be made king"?
It's probably not entirely wrong when we think of "talent" in what has come to be the standard way: natural abilities such as athletic ability, musical ability, learning ability, leadership ability, and all the other natural gifts which every person has, each in his own kind and measure. Of course God gave these abilities to us. But is a gift like that really the most valuable gift I've been given? And how do the faithful servants really invest God's "talents" on his behalf?
What Jesus said next shows me what he expects his faithful servants to do: acts of mercy, kindness, and love. What Jesus teaches next is the last teaching of the set, the one that caps them all: the teaching of the sheep and the goats on the last day. Jesus tells us what his faithful servants do. The faithful servants show mercy. They show it without worrying who is "deserving" and who is not. The faithful servants seek out the hungry, thirsty, naked, lonely, sick, and imprisoned of the world to show them God's love in action. These are the investments he expects us to make in this world.
God's rich gift to us -- the "talent", the valuable thing we are managing for him -- is his love. The treasure that we put to work in the world is God's compassion. His great investment in this world is forgiveness.
Jesus spoke the parable of the talents in Jerusalem during the days immediately before his arrest. In Matthew's account, this parable follows immediately after two other parables which are basically "parables of the long absence" -- parables whose main point is that Jesus will be gone from this world longer than anyone expects. After the first two parables address the havoc that his long absence causes amongst his followers, this last parable finally speaks of servants who were productive during their Lord's absence, during which he went away to be crowned king. The master gives his servants each a certain number of "talents" while he is away.
And here, I think, is where I often start to go wrong and imagine that the "talents" are really something about me. Back in the day, a "talent" was an amount of money. The story uses the earthly image of making investments for a profit. But what is the investment the servants should make? What is the "talent"? What is it that Jesus has given us, particularly what was it that he gave us right before he went on his "long journey to be made king"?
It's probably not entirely wrong when we think of "talent" in what has come to be the standard way: natural abilities such as athletic ability, musical ability, learning ability, leadership ability, and all the other natural gifts which every person has, each in his own kind and measure. Of course God gave these abilities to us. But is a gift like that really the most valuable gift I've been given? And how do the faithful servants really invest God's "talents" on his behalf?
What Jesus said next shows me what he expects his faithful servants to do: acts of mercy, kindness, and love. What Jesus teaches next is the last teaching of the set, the one that caps them all: the teaching of the sheep and the goats on the last day. Jesus tells us what his faithful servants do. The faithful servants show mercy. They show it without worrying who is "deserving" and who is not. The faithful servants seek out the hungry, thirsty, naked, lonely, sick, and imprisoned of the world to show them God's love in action. These are the investments he expects us to make in this world.
God's rich gift to us -- the "talent", the valuable thing we are managing for him -- is his love. The treasure that we put to work in the world is God's compassion. His great investment in this world is forgiveness.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
