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aaron klinefelter
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December 06, 2007
> 12:04 PM
quicktake > avoiding sin as self-preservation This is something I was thinking about this morning. Liz and I were talking about "little white lies" and how acceptable they are in most people's moral understanding of things. Most of us have probably grown up in a setting where this was likely even expected of children, especially teenagers. The conversation got around to why one wouldn't lie, for instance. Why not? Because it's wrong. OK, fine. I agree, by the way. Lying, for me, is one of the most hateful things one person can do to another. If someone lies to me -- let's just say I hate it deeply. Anyway, what I thought and said then was that it was very unfortunate that the only reason most Christians avoid a sin like lying (or anything else really) is because they'll feel bad, especially if they get caught. And if they think about it much, depending on their moral sensibilities, they might get around to not doing it because they want to avoid punishment or discipline from God. If it's a matter of something more serious to them, they might avoid it in order to avoid hell. You may be thinking I'm going to say how good this is. You'd be wrong. Ultimately, all those reasons are about SELF-preservation. They do not take into consideration any love of the other. They're not concerned with any damage done to the person lied to, how it may have hurt them. The person who thinks like this, who has been taught to think like this, is primarily concerned with the concept of "committing" or "not committing" a sin as a legal idea. They're concerned with themselves not breaking a law so that then they will be found guilty and therefore, liable to judgment. I'll admit I'm dealing with an ideal notion of what a Christian should be thinking/feeling about these things - and why not? I won't apologize for that. When you get right down to it, this legal motive I've just described is a selfish motive. It really only takes self into consideration. Ironically, there may be a lot of Christians who are not technically guilty of many sins at all, but who are less loving, less Christ-like than many others who are. It's a bad, bad thing that children are taught these things - to avoid doing bad things so they won't be punished by God, so that they won't have a black mark on their little heavenly records, so that they, they, they won't be burned up in the end. Horrible. If we teach our children such things, we are teaching them to be selfish. We're teaching them to operate out of a core of guilt. Is this really what Jesus came to give us? What, then, is the alternative? If you don't make them afraid of hell, they'll just go wild! Excuse me, but bullshit. Mine haven't, and I'm pretty sure they won't. And I'm not naive. Teach them Love. Allow yourself to be taught to Love. First, to be loved by God. Then, to be transformed by that Love. And finally, to love others as God has loved you. Sounds kinda like the Gospel doesn't it? I'll answer for you, Yes. It does. But, .... No! But, what about.... Don't worry about it! Love God. Love your fellow human beings. Everything else you'd be worried about is taken care of inside of that. Yes, yes, I know, Love must be taught as the true Love of God - not just gushy feelings, it must be properly formed. Still - Love. Learn to live as a Child, not a slave. Then pass it on to your children, if you have any - that they are, in fact, beloved children, not slaves who need to fear the whip. technorati tags > sin, selfishness Labels: spiritual formation, theology 0 Comments:| permalink | e-mail me | 
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