Grant me, O Lord, that I might see my own trespasses,
and not pass judgment on my brother
– St Ephraim
(Christians) seem to think
that if they can move more and more people toward living “morally,” that we
will then have a better society, nation, world: that “GOD will then be on our
side, once again.” The problem with this assumption is that it is based on the
idea that we humans can save ourselves (or our nation) by being “good.” +
People whom are primarily driven
by morality are usually judgmental and haughty. Such people are often self-righteous
busybodies, running around behaving as if Christ abdicated His throne and left
them in charge of governing the world or at least their neighbors. +
Moralism only places value
on those who adhere to a particular moral code. Loving others, treating all people with the dignity and respect
due them, because each is made in God’s image, is nowhere to be seen among such
people. +
When societal “morality”
becomes the Christian’s Be All and End All, the means by which they seek to
establish it will be legal: if we can just pass the right laws and get rid of
the “wrong” ones, then all will be well. However, when we depend upon laws to
keep everyone in check, what we will end up with is a revolt of slaves wanting
to throw off their shackles. It is the heart that must be converted to love and
obedience to God. If this doesn’t take place… expect a revolt. +
Moralism. Christians should
consider the instructions of the Apostles Peter and Paul:
Peter’s advice (Acts 15) to
Gentile converts whom the Jewish Christians were demanding be circumcised, if
they were to be “good Christians”: “We’re not going to burden you with anything beyond the following
requirements: You are to abstain from food
sacrificed to idols (stay away from idols and idolatry), from blood, from the
meat of strangled animals (watch over your testimony before the Jews to whom
you are a witness for Christ), and from sexual immorality.”
Paul’s
advice to Thessalonians (I Thess. 4)
Love
each other “more and more,” “mind your own business, work with your hands … so that your daily life
may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on
anybody.” And then, “If you do this, you’re good to go.”
What
moral burdens do we Christians place on people, today? I’ll wager it is far more than what
Peter and Paul handed down. And have you ever met a moralist who minds his own
business? Crikey: these people consider meddling in the lives of others to be
their highest calling. +
God
has never been impressed or even amused with people running around thinking that
they can leverage His blessings by their proper behavior. It can’t be done. We
can’t “save” ourselves via our “uprightness,” “integrity,” “sacrificial
life-style,” or “following the straight and narrow.” You and I both know what
lies in our hearts, in the hearts of the best of us, and it isn’t pretty. It is
a heart being purified through a
living faith and trust in Him and His grace that God is after in us. Trusting
in our own morality is abhorrent to Him because, as Isaiah pointed out, compared
to God’s purity, our “righteousness” appears as nothing more than so many
filthy rags. +
Antidote to Moralism:
Maintaining
a constant awareness of my own desperate need for God’s mercy and grace.
I am the chief of sinners. -St. Paul
Note:
Not “was,” but “am.”
Copyright, Monte E Wilson, 2014
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