Are we so concerned about actions that we have forgotten about our attitudes? I am amazed how we can be so focused on right and wrong and yet call evil good and good evil in the way that we think.
As I have been preparing and studying for a series of messages focusing on money, power, sex and God…I’ve been struck with the idea that in the things that we really don’t want to deal with personally we make excuses for our actions. For instance:
Money- we give what we want, not what God wants us to give. We are okay with being selfish and just call it “need” instead. Generosity is not something we think we are capable of because we feel so “poor” when we go to the mall or look at what others around us have. Whatever…
Power- we politicize and posture ourselves in opposition to people instead of positions. We get angry at those who aren’t part of the same party, who have made decisions that we don’t agree with, and whose policies hurt us personally (though they may be caring for the broader population). Do we actually believe that the Kingdom of God will come with worldly power? Is it all about our pursuit of happiness? Whatever….
Sex- the church is really facing some issues here especially when you consider that we have minimized the enormity and effect of sexual sin. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 6 that sexual sin is in a category all by itself, that all others sins are different. I know it’s not common to teach this, but all we have do is look around and see the effect of adultery, of sleeping together outside of marriage and of lust and pornography. Whatever…
Considering that followers of Christ are supposed to actually reflect Christ and be different from the world (while still being in the world), I think that a relative attitude has hampered the effectiveness of our witness. We have become really effective and finding the flaws in sinners and really poor at examining the logs in our own eyes. I want to be the kind of person that shows forth grace and obedience…and that stops treating God’s word as one big whatever.
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-Peter
