sin and repentence

Lord, Have Mercy!

Frank

So I was pulled over the other day on my way to work. No excuses, I was speeding. When the officer asked why I was going as fast as I was, I couldn’t think of any other response than to say, “habit.” I was on a stretch of road I figure I’ve driven at least 3000 times and I drive the same speed every time. In fact, I’ve had patrol cars pass by me at least a few dozen times without ever a second glance. The officer told me that he pulled me over because I didn’t even make an effort to slow down. I was thinking, “why should I have?” But he was right, and I was clearly wrong. Thankfully the officer extended mercy to me by only giving me a warning.

How much does this reflect our own sinful nature? We may openly confess the “serious” sins- those we feel an extra measure of guilt or are shamed into thinking are worse than others. But the habitual sins are what can separate us from God. Pride, envy, anger, lust. Habits. And how often are we reminded of these sins either by being caught in the act, or doing a measure of harm we regret? Yet, the character still remains because we’re spared consequence. In other words, we see the patrol car, but we don’t get pulled over.

How many times did I deserve a speeding ticket? A few thousand. So I have no reason to be upset for finally getting caught and receiving one. Just like our sinful nature, God lets us get away with a lot. But eventually we will have to face the consequences. We cannot take our habitual sins for granted, just like we cannot take God’s mercy and forgiveness for granted either. We need to see our sin as sin and measure it by the stripes on Jesus’ back instead of by the number of times we’ve gotten away with it. We need to remember the humility of the tax collector, who when praying, “stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'” (Luke 18:13)

Lord, Have Mercy!

Frank

So I was pulled over the other day on my way to work. No excuses, I was speeding. When the officer asked why I was going as fast as I was, I couldn’t think of any other response than to say, “habit.” I was on a stretch of road I figure I’ve driven at least 3000 times and I drive the same speed every time. In fact, I’ve had patrol cars pass by me at least a few dozen times without ever a second glance. The officer told me that he pulled me over because I didn’t even make an effort to slow down. I was thinking, “why should I have?” But he was right, and I was clearly wrong. Thankfully the officer extended mercy to me by only giving me a warning.

How much does this reflect our own sinful nature? We may openly confess the “serious” sins- those we feel an extra measure of guilt or are shamed into thinking are worse than others. But the habitual sins are what can separate us from God. Pride, envy, anger, lust. Habits. And how often are we reminded of these sins either by being caught in the act, or doing a measure of harm we regret? Yet, the character still remains because we’re spared consequence. In other words, we see the patrol car, but we don’t get pulled over.

How many times did I deserve a speeding ticket? A few thousand. So I have no reason to be upset for finally getting caught and receiving one. Just like our sinful nature, God lets us get away with a lot. But eventually we will have to face the consequences. We cannot take our habitual sins for granted, just like we cannot take God’s mercy and forgiveness for granted either. We need to see our sin as sin and measure it by the stripes on Jesus’ back instead of by the number of times we’ve gotten away with it. We need to remember the humility of the tax collector, who when praying, “stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'” (Luke 18:13)

Harassed and Helpless

Frank

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)

Harassed and helpless is how the Gospel of Matthew describes the crowds, and thus describes us the same. You could replace that with going to ‘Hell in a hand basket’ for another alliteration that describes us pretty well. No doubt the news is depressing. Maybe it’s becoming more so, or the instant access to information that the Internet and 24-hour news brings more of the worst to light. But as has been true for two thousand years, our world acts as sheep without a shepherd.

There’s been a string of tragedies that show just how helpless we are without Jesus. You’ve no doubt heard about the student at Yale who was killed by a ‘control freak’, or the honor student in Chicago that was killed for only being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But those headlines were followed by a case at UCLA similar to that at Yale, and a group lighting a teen on fire because he stopped some other kids from stealing his dad’s bike. Fortunately in the last two cases, the victim survived.

I wrote before about ‘hate crimes’ and how really any crime can be a hate crime, regardless of race or sexual orientation. In context of Jesus’ teachings, hate and anger equate to murder, even if that act isn’t carried out. It’s easy to look at the above crimes as hate-filled, but that won’t qualify them as ‘hate crimes’.

Maybe we’re wrong to focus on hate. I’ve heard this before, but Chrystie’s post in response to Peter’s blog carnival reminded me that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. The way I remember hearing it before is that the opposite of love is apathy. Maybe there should be ‘apathy crimes’ legislation?

I say this because most crimes like those above are completely indifferent to the victim. The motive of the accused range from emotional impulse to territorialism/tribalism. At either extreme is a disregard for the sanctity of human life. Pope John Paul II often preached on overcoming the “Culture of death” with a “Culture of Life”. Often that message was narrowed down to abortion and euthanasia. But it extends further to crimes against our fellow man and acts such as abortion and euthanasia are only symptoms of the culture. Why would we bring a child into this world if we can’t afford him or if she would be an inconvenience? Obviously that shows a lack of value of life. Why shouldn’t I kill this woman because she turned me down or why shouldn’t I light this kid on fire because he kept me from taking what I want? Again, the same attitude in the heart.

So what do we do? We need to view the world through Jesus’ eyes and see all life as being sacred. No possession, emotion, or political issue is worth another’s life. All of us are just sheep. Let’s keep from slaughtering each other.

Harassed and Helpless

Frank

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-36)

Harassed and helpless is how the Gospel of Matthew describes the crowds, and thus describes us the same. You could replace that with going to ‘Hell in a hand basket’ for another alliteration that describes us pretty well. No doubt the news is depressing. Maybe it’s becoming more so, or the instant access to information that the Internet and 24-hour news brings more of the worst to light. But as has been true for two thousand years, our world acts as sheep without a shepherd.

There’s been a string of tragedies that show just how helpless we are without Jesus. You’ve no doubt heard about the student at Yale who was killed by a ‘control freak’, or the honor student in Chicago that was killed for only being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But those headlines were followed by a case at UCLA similar to that at Yale, and a group lighting a teen on fire because he stopped some other kids from stealing his dad’s bike. Fortunately in the last two cases, the victim survived.

I wrote before about ‘hate crimes’ and how really any crime can be a hate crime, regardless of race or sexual orientation. In context of Jesus’ teachings, hate and anger equate to murder, even if that act isn’t carried out. It’s easy to look at the above crimes as hate-filled, but that won’t qualify them as ‘hate crimes’.

Maybe we’re wrong to focus on hate. I’ve heard this before, but Chrystie’s post in response to Peter’s blog carnival reminded me that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. The way I remember hearing it before is that the opposite of love is apathy. Maybe there should be ‘apathy crimes’ legislation?

I say this because most crimes like those above are completely indifferent to the victim. The motive of the accused range from emotional impulse to territorialism/tribalism. At either extreme is a disregard for the sanctity of human life. Pope John Paul II often preached on overcoming the “Culture of death” with a “Culture of Life”. Often that message was narrowed down to abortion and euthanasia. But it extends further to crimes against our fellow man and acts such as abortion and euthanasia are only symptoms of the culture. Why would we bring a child into this world if we can’t afford him or if she would be an inconvenience? Obviously that shows a lack of value of life. Why shouldn’t I kill this woman because she turned me down or why shouldn’t I light this kid on fire because he kept me from taking what I want? Again, the same attitude in the heart.

So what do we do? We need to view the world through Jesus’ eyes and see all life as being sacred. No possession, emotion, or political issue is worth another’s life. All of us are just sheep. Let’s keep from slaughtering each other.

In Your Anger, Do Not Sin

Frank

The title is from Ephesians 4:26 and continues, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph 4:26-27)

I decided to make Father’s Day a theme and I wanted to talk a little about a common sin as a father, anger. If you’re a dad, I’m sure you can relate. You come home from work, you just want to relax, and you come home to your child’s messy room. Depending on their age, either they want to jump all over you or they ignore you altogether. Your child who is a “reward from [God]” (Ps 127:3ff) is not the source of joy he or she should be but is instead a source of frustration. You want to be a good father so you hide your frustration- you either stuff it or let loose on something else (video games, sports, the weights at the gym). But you never really deal with it and that frustration grows and grows until it spills over. I don’t know what form that will take for you, but I fear of the form it will take for me. By not dealing with it, I’m “giving the devil a foothold” and he’s just waiting to take advantage of it.

So what do we do? We need to talk about it; share it with a brother in Christ, and calmly confront the source of frustration. Either it’s something that can be addressed, or it’s something not worth the emotional cost. Remember, you’re the leader of your family. Leader, not manager. What’s the difference? Leaders are proactive; they set the course. Managers are reactive and deal with things as they come.

Chip Ingram spent the last couple of weeks on this subject and his lessons are worth a listen. Admittedly, the series promotes his most recent book, Overcoming Emotions that Destroy. But if nothing else, listen to the last two broadcasts of this series, and evaluate how you deal with anger.

Speaking of books, I also need to give a shout out to Susan Titus Osborn (one of the panelists at the AV Writer’s Conference I attended last month) who wrote Wounded by Words: Healing the Invisible Scars of Emotional Abuse. The sad truth is, often our anger and frustration shows itself in our words. James compares our tongues to the rudder of a ship or the bit in a horse’s mouth in describing the influence our words have. He goes on to write, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” (Js 3:9-10) We need to recognize the damage our anger and our words are capable of.

I’m reminded of this parable: A young man struggles with temper tantrums and his parents are at their wits end trying to curb his anger. So the dad comes up with an idea. He gives his son a hammer and a bag of nails. He tells him, “every time you get angry, pound a nail into that old wood fence out back.” After some time, and several nails, the son stops having angry outbursts. He’s simply tired of pounding nails. “Good,” his father tells him, “now go and remove all those nails from my fence.” The son does as he’s told and returns to ask his dad what the point was. “See all the holes that are now in my fence?” the father asks. “You can take out all the nails, but the damage is already done. So it is with your anger. You can take back all the words, but you can’t take back the hurt you caused.”

In Your Anger, Do Not Sin

Frank

The title is from Ephesians 4:26 and continues, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” (Eph 4:26-27)

I decided to make Father’s Day a theme and I wanted to talk a little about a common sin as a father, anger. If you’re a dad, I’m sure you can relate. You come home from work, you just want to relax, and you come home to your child’s messy room. Depending on their age, either they want to jump all over you or they ignore you altogether. Your child who is a “reward from [God]” (Ps 127:3ff) is not the source of joy he or she should be but is instead a source of frustration. You want to be a good father so you hide your frustration- you either stuff it or let loose on something else (video games, sports, the weights at the gym). But you never really deal with it and that frustration grows and grows until it spills over. I don’t know what form that will take for you, but I fear of the form it will take for me. By not dealing with it, I’m “giving the devil a foothold” and he’s just waiting to take advantage of it.

So what do we do? We need to talk about it; share it with a brother in Christ, and calmly confront the source of frustration. Either it’s something that can be addressed, or it’s something not worth the emotional cost. Remember, you’re the leader of your family. Leader, not manager. What’s the difference? Leaders are proactive; they set the course. Managers are reactive and deal with things as they come.

Chip Ingram spent the last couple of weeks on this subject and his lessons are worth a listen. Admittedly, the series promotes his most recent book, Overcoming Emotions that Destroy. But if nothing else, listen to the last two broadcasts of this series, and evaluate how you deal with anger.

Speaking of books, I also need to give a shout out to Susan Titus Osborn (one of the panelists at the AV Writer’s Conference I attended last month) who wrote Wounded by Words: Healing the Invisible Scars of Emotional Abuse. The sad truth is, often our anger and frustration shows itself in our words. James compares our tongues to the rudder of a ship or the bit in a horse’s mouth in describing the influence our words have. He goes on to write, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.” (Js 3:9-10) We need to recognize the damage our anger and our words are capable of.

I’m reminded of this parable: A young man struggles with temper tantrums and his parents are at their wits end trying to curb his anger. So the dad comes up with an idea. He gives his son a hammer and a bag of nails. He tells him, “every time you get angry, pound a nail into that old wood fence out back.” After some time, and several nails, the son stops having angry outbursts. He’s simply tired of pounding nails. “Good,” his father tells him, “now go and remove all those nails from my fence.” The son does as he’s told and returns to ask his dad what the point was. “See all the holes that are now in my fence?” the father asks. “You can take out all the nails, but the damage is already done. So it is with your anger. You can take back all the words, but you can’t take back the hurt you caused.”

Are You a Statistic?

Frank

I’ve been thinking about the blanket assumption that Christians who identify homosexuality as a sin are bigots. While there are definitely fringe elements (i.e. Fred Phelps) and an over-emphasis in politics (will gay-marriage really bring about the end of Western Civilization?), the appropriate Christian response to homosexuality should be the same as for any other sin. Bigotry implies hate, but we’re told by Jesus to love others including sinners.

So how does homosexuality stack up number-wise? (I’m a number cruncher by trade, so bear with me)

  • Homosexuals account for only 2% of the population according to the US Census Bureau, though polls indicate that number rises to the order of 10% when the respondents can be anonymous.
  • According to a recent Barna survey, only 40% of American adults believe Jesus lived a sinless life, meaning 60% are in sin by denying the deity of Christ.
  • Recent data shows the number of Americans identifying as Christians has dropped from 85% to 76% over the last decade.
  • It’s generally accepted that 10% of the population are alcoholics while according to the CDC 20% smoke
  • A survey by the Kaiser Foundation shows that roughly 45% of teenagers have engaged in some form of sexual activity. Teenagers account for 8% of the total population, so that gives us 4%.
  • In 2001, the Federal Reserve reported that 44% of people do not pay off their credit cards monthly.
  • And last year 53% of the voting population voted for Barack Obama. (Just kidding!)

So well more than 100% of the population is engaged in some sort of sin, accounting for likely crossover. And this list covers a broad range, ranging from arguable sins depending on personal convictions (smoking, credit card debt, homosexuality), sins that can be argued isn’t the fault of the person (alcoholism, homosexuality), and sins that are subjective to doctrine (Christ’s divinity, only Christians are saved).

So is it worth expending such a fuss over a such a small percentage of the whole? Given the above adds up to over 100%, doesn’t that just confirm that “all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) So if believing that homosexuality is sin and that equals hate, then doesn’t that mean we ‘hate’ everyone?

There are a few things we can take away from this. One we, as Christians, should treat all sins and sinners equally because of the above passage. Two, homosexuals should recognize that they are a very small target relative to the Christian desire that “all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) Finally, we should be sobered by these statistics and reminded that “not everyone who says to me (Jesus), ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Are You a Statistic?

Frank

I’ve been thinking about the blanket assumption that Christians who identify homosexuality as a sin are bigots. While there are definitely fringe elements (i.e. Fred Phelps) and an over-emphasis in politics (will gay-marriage really bring about the end of Western Civilization?), the appropriate Christian response to homosexuality should be the same as for any other sin. Bigotry implies hate, but we’re told by Jesus to love others including sinners.

So how does homosexuality stack up number-wise? (I’m a number cruncher by trade, so bear with me)

  • Homosexuals account for only 2% of the population according to the US Census Bureau, though polls indicate that number rises to the order of 10% when the respondents can be anonymous.
  • According to a recent Barna survey, only 40% of American adults believe Jesus lived a sinless life, meaning 60% are in sin by denying the deity of Christ.
  • Recent data shows the number of Americans identifying as Christians has dropped from 85% to 76% over the last decade.
  • It’s generally accepted that 10% of the population are alcoholics while according to the CDC 20% smoke
  • A survey by the Kaiser Foundation shows that roughly 45% of teenagers have engaged in some form of sexual activity. Teenagers account for 8% of the total population, so that gives us 4%.
  • In 2001, the Federal Reserve reported that 44% of people do not pay off their credit cards monthly.
  • And last year 53% of the voting population voted for Barack Obama. (Just kidding!)

So well more than 100% of the population is engaged in some sort of sin, accounting for likely crossover. And this list covers a broad range, ranging from arguable sins depending on personal convictions (smoking, credit card debt, homosexuality), sins that can be argued isn’t the fault of the person (alcoholism, homosexuality), and sins that are subjective to doctrine (Christ’s divinity, only Christians are saved).

So is it worth expending such a fuss over a such a small percentage of the whole? Given the above adds up to over 100%, doesn’t that just confirm that “all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) So if believing that homosexuality is sin and that equals hate, then doesn’t that mean we ‘hate’ everyone?

There are a few things we can take away from this. One we, as Christians, should treat all sins and sinners equally because of the above passage. Two, homosexuals should recognize that they are a very small target relative to the Christian desire that “all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) Finally, we should be sobered by these statistics and reminded that “not everyone who says to me (Jesus), ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Family Values

Frank

“You are what you do when no one is looking.” This is one of my favorite sayings and is true whether you’re talking about spirituality or not. What is interesting though, is that it is so hard to put into practice.

Christian or not, there are “rules” for acceptable behavior in the public square- cussing at work is generally frowned upon, you can be ticketed for road rage, there are laws against public indecency, and so on. But at home, anything goes.

I’m guilty of this myself. I was talking with a coworker about an ongoing problem that was increasingly frustrating and I totally went off. I didn’t cuss, but by my tone, I might as well have. He commented that he’s never seen me so upset about anything before (he should see me watch sports). But I don’t apply that filter at home with my own family. I’m quick to raise my voice at my children and vent my frustrations to my wife. While I wouldn’t cuss in front of my boss, I don’t have a problem cussing in anger in front of my family.

What that tells me is that I value my boss, my job, and others outside of my home more than I value my very own family. I care more about what coworkers think of me than what my children think of me. Now deep down that’s not true, but that’s what my actions say.

This came to me the other night during a discussion with other brothers about the fights they have at home, and it convicted the tar out of me. Why should I treat my family worse than I treat my coworkers, or even strangers on the street?

While the title of this blog is “Public Christianity” with the emphasis being to live and express our faith in the public square, our faith needs to be deeply rooted in our homes as well. “… choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) The Bible is ripe with instruction on how to live and manage our homes. If what only mattered was what people see of us in public, then why include instructions to women in Timothy and Titus?

Sin is sin, regardless of where we indulge in it. God sees us in the privacy of our homes, just as strangers see our deeds in public. Don’t think you’re hiding sin just because it’s not public. Value your family more than that.

“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:20)

“For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.” (Eph 5:12)

The Wages of Sin

Frank

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Tomorrow the largest federal tobacco tax increase in history takes effect as the tax on a pack of cigarettes goes from $0.39 to $1.01. This “sin tax” is expected to raise $33 billion towards health care expansion for children. This continues a trend to tax specific products to pay for social programs. Even the state of Nevada was considering taxing prostitution to make up for shortfalls in their budget.

There are three choices to politically curb social vices, legislate/regulate, tax, or use the bully pulpit as a platform for change. Social conservatives have traditionally taken the legislate/regulate route, while taxing is more palatable to social liberals. Sadly, we rarely see anyone use their political power to address vices. Nancy Reagan’s campaign to “just say no” is the most obvious, and maybe even the most recent, that I can think of (up until only recently, following the over-hyped “value voter”, other issues such as health care, immigration, and so forth have seldom been approached as social ills).

The irony of course, is that while so many cry foul whenever someone tries to pass legislation to curb something like abortion which infringes on a woman’s right to choose, few voices are heard when something like cigarettes are excessively taxed. And unless I’ve missed it, people still have the right to “choose” whether or not to smoke. You could argue that these aren’t morally equivalent, but we’re not talking morals here- we’re talking legal rights.

Not that it matters anyway. Every vice could be taxed to the point of being prohibitively expensive, regulated far beyond mere inconvenience, and outlawed with the strictest penalties and people would still choose to indulge in their favorite sin. It is, after all, in our nature. The only way to effectively curb a social vice is to address it on moral grounds. That cannot be done from the ballot box, but from the pew; not during an election cycle, but every day; not from an elected leader, but from our own Christian example.

Of course we all know the real “sin tax” is the eternal penalty to be paid for our sins. Thanks be to God for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who paid that tax in advance for us.