------christians aren't perfect. All of us at one time or another have acted in a way that you know is contrary to God's best. Maybe you have a W.W.J.D bracelet, sometimes i wear my W.W. J. L.M.G.A.W.J.O.T.I.I. W.R.S.A? (WHAT WOULD JESUS LET ME GET AWAY WITH JUST ONE TIME IF I WAS REALLY SORRY AFTERWARD) yes, i have massive wrists.
Anyways, here is where sin ratings can come in and deceive us if we are not careful. Sin ratings are much like movie ratings, designed to warn you of the severity of content. G is totally family friendly, PG may have some slightly inappropriate humor for kids, all the way up to the big R for restricted.
R rated sins are things like murder, rape, drug addiction, adultery, pornography and Donald Trumps hair, ok maybe not that last one. PG sins are often the overlooked and seemingly innocent, envy, gossip, pride, comparison, ungratefulness, and slander to name a few.
My concern is two fold
1. how are people who have either done or struggle with any "R" rated issues ever going to be set free if the church is too busy labeling them as untouchable? If you can't be transparent at church, where can you? Do we really want a congregation of people who put on their best sunday face and then go directly home to their world of struggle, guilt and shame? Jesus in his ultimate balance of grace and truth told the prostitute, "neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more". Grace equals no condemnation in Christ, truth equals allowing God to change you.
2. those of us who may not have these R rated sins in our life can become all to complacent in the battle against sin.. We assume since most of our issues are of the PG nature, we must be alright and we can sit back and judge, I mean help those who are struggling. I love the line in Hillsong''s Hosanna that says "break my heart for what breaks yours". I pray that not only concerning the injustice in the world, but also the dark areas of my own life that I have not fully surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus. Not in a legalistic look how holy I am way, but truly offering myself as a living sacrifice and being transformed more and more into the image of the one I serve.
Let's make sure we are not ignoring the PG boards in our eyes while we search out the R rated specks in others.
proverbs 8:13 "the fear of the Lord is to HATE evil, pride, arrogance and corrupt speech will not come near me"
Psalm 139:23 " Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything that offends you, and lead me along the paths of life."
When Anxiety Attacks
9 years ago
4 comments:
Great post! Just stumbled across your blog searching for Zondervan Publishers on Twitter. May God continue to bless your still new walk with Him. God Bless, feel free to visit my blog anytime, you may like it!
You're right! Isn't it interesting how we put "ratings" on sin, where for God, sin is a sin. How easily we forget that or judge others on it.
That's so true, Jon. I have found myself being judgmental and critical and having no scriptural basis why something is wrong. But just blanketed it with so reason but just because I thought it was WRONG and couldn't explain why. I think we have to be careful not to be too quick to judge (PG). And even gossip, too. That is a PG that is often accepted among Christians but it really destroys relationships.
i will say i have been in the R rated catagory, and i appreciate this so much. i experienced incredible loneliness b/c of this idea/expectation i believed i had to measure up to, and when my empire began to crumble, i masked the pain, unable face rejection again, and instead began rejecting, rebelling, and yet.. and yet. the very people i expected to judge and "turn me over" as an untouchable reached out with the compassion and love of christ- in a way i'd never experienced before.
thank you for voicing this.
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