The current vogue of the American church, if you follow such things as social media, are such things as "Social Justice", which is now becoming a pillar of something called "New Christian Politics". I have certainly commented on such things before - as have others, far more eloquently than myself. The great - and very self-satisfying thing - to most people is the fact that the such things are confined sins, impacting only a portion of the populations. Those who are not impacted by such things can sit smugly in their chairs or pews, feeling the message is always for others, never themselves. Add it off with a dollop of worship and prayer, and they go off on their way happy with the fact they attended church and God "spoke" through the preacher to the worldly situations around them.
If Christ came only to save us from social injustice or bad politics, He is merely another human teacher mired in the human experience. But if in fact Christ came to save us from our individual sin, it is perhaps worthwhile to examine the sins which He actually came to save us from.
If I really look inside at myself (always the most accessible of sinners I am acquainted with), what I find undergirding my every sin is selfishness. I am selfish in the truest sense of the word: I seek to make the world about myself, to put myself in the throne of my life. This does not just impact how I view people different from myself or of a different economic class than myself but even the parts of things I do for myself: how I eat, what I watch, how I act in everyday situations, how I treat my body and my mind. Every moment of every day, I have a choice in every situation: choose myself, or choose God's word about the situation.
I have written about it before, but I would pay good money to see the reaction of a congregation to a sermon on gluttony, for example (the idea of our bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit extends not only to sexual desires but to all aspects of the physical experience). Or a sermon on the feeding of our minds with wholesome things ("Do you watch current media, brothers and sisters? When there is uncalled for language or sexual overtones, do you turn away or just regard it as a reflection of the culture around you - no big deal?")? And any sermon on lust which challenges just not our thoughts (which is, typically, directed at men) but everything we do as a people to enable and support that culture ("What movies are you watching? What books are you reading? Why are you supporting this?")?
More and more churches will not do this, I suspect, because they have become so intertwined with the culture that rather than become lights shining out to the culture they have merely become mirrors reflecting it. And it will challenge all the congregation in all manners of sin, not just in the ones that they feel comfortable applies "to other people." And most importantly - and thus perhaps, most dangerously - it will constantly remind people not that they are good or justified but rather that they are all sinners in need of a Savior, without which there is only one outcome.
That, friends, is the good news of the Gospel - not that Jesus came to fix our social and political systems (although that is an outcome) but rather than Jesus came to save us from our sins, from Hell and eternal separation from God. That is the good news that really changes lives - but it only comes when the Church is willing to treat the totality of sin for what it truly is, not for what we think it should be.
TB, you bring out a very important point here, that sin is selfishness. It's elevating oneself above God, and unfortunately, something we humans can't get away from. We always, always make choices in what we see as our own best interests.
ReplyDeleteI think most people just assume sin is doing "bad" things. So if I'm not doing blatantly bad things, then I'm not a sinner. The problem is that society defines good and bad, and those definitions are constantly changing. Is abortion good or bad? It depends whom one asks!
The first century Jews missed the point that Jesus didn't come for social and political salvation. He came for spiritual salvation from death and eternal separation from Himself. Sadly, it doesn't' seem many church goers understand that either.
Good point Leigh - in fact, the I would argue the bulk of churches would say that "sin" is a lack of love, some random sins they do not care for and therefore are considered bad, and of course whatever their flavor of social activism is.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I doubt when the cards are down (as they inevitably are at some point) most people will be willing to be martyred for a social messiah.
briefly met a priest some years ago. friend of my husband.
ReplyDeletein brief converse i said, many are called but few are chosen. when i was young i did not realize how few that would be.
he answered, that is because few choose to answer the call.
eye opening to me
to avoid sin is often difficult. passing up food, the comfort of your chair or bed, many other every day things
i have often said that if king david had had nintendo there would be no psalms
Deborah, I am coming to believe it is much fewer (in many ways) than any of us really thought.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about self denial itself- undoubtedly a key to holiness and at least partially avoiding sin, practiced by almost none now.