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Confronting The Sin Police: Selective Christian Brutality Against A Fallen World


Sin.

We Christians love that word.

Well, I should say, we love to use that word…albeit extremely selectively.

The word sin, essentially means to “miss the mark”. It’s the way the Bible describes a life that in a million different ways, isn’t measuring-up to the standard that is, God. (which, in case you’re not familiar with the Bible, includes everyone in the Bible… with one major exception).

Given that truth, Sin is a word that should breed commonality and kinship among all us non-Jesus folks: We’re all less than God, so we’re all in the same struggling, flimsy boat here:

We’re all in this sin-mess together, right?

Not so much.

In any discussion that you see or hear church people having, whether in person, on TV, or online, things usually get real ugly, real fast.

Wherever Christians are talking about pretty much anything; (faith, life, sex, government, race, death, love, etc.), it isn’t long before stuff escalates, voices get raised, heated words are exchanged, and then the cops show-up: The self-appointed, Sin-Police.

The Sin-Police come flyin’ in like holy heroes; bustin’ heads, and layin’ down the Law. They unholster that aforementioned Bible, and they unleash the “Lord’s fury” down upon the heads of the bad guys, in searing hot chapter-and-verse bullets, designed to kill on contact.

The only problem is, the “bad guys”, that they’re targeting, almost never include themselves. That’s the problem with the Sin Police; they’re trigger happy with other people’s lives, and gun-shy with their own.

You see, even though Sin is supposed to be a universal condition of all living souls, in practice and in theology, most Christians really define sin as, “The bad stuff that other people are doing.”

This is the arrogant, skewed mindset that governs the Sin Police, and gives them the perceived authority they need to do the “Lord’s work” of sin eradication in their lifetime. Sin, (someone else’s junk), is always the justification for their show of force, which makes challenging or disagreeing with them, in their minds; almost impossible.

And so they canvas blog comments sections, coffee shop conversations, online sermons, and radio talk show airwaves for any hint of wrongdoing, as determined by their decidedly narrow definition, and they dispense justice, swiftly and brutally.

And here’s the biggest problem of all, Christian: You are the Sin Police. I am the Sin Police.

It’s not just people on the other side of your arguments who use sin selectively.
It isn’t simply those who hate the things you love, or ignore the causes you endorse, or espouse the ideas you despise.
It isn’t those across political aisles, or denominational designations, or hot button social issues.

We all take the Law into our own hands when it suits us.

Jesus gives some good counsel to we who would be tempted to become selective sin enforcers, and it’s about self-policing:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5

Let’s be honest here: There are countless Scripture soundbytes we can all trot out to supposedly justify our tough, unflinching stance on another person’s life; their actions, motives, language, dress, social lives, spending, sexual activity, parenting, politics, etc.

That makes us feel better while we crusade, and gives us the warm, moral satisfaction of feeling like we’re on “God’s side” as we confront someone else’s mess.

Maybe there’s a better way.
Maybe Jesus is on to something.
Maybe it’s more simple than we’d like to admit.

If we who call ourselves followers of Christ, really believe that what the Bible says about sin is true; that we’re all in the same struggling, flimsy boat here, maybe we’d be better served to lay down our guns, and pick up a mirror.

Then, let’s see how much we all really love Justice, and just how tough we wanna be on the “sinners”.

Chances are, we’d all probably cop-out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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