The world is not black and white. But it’s not all hazy gray either. There are lines; there are rules; there are standards. As Christians, we are called to give up our selfish desires and to not lean on our own understandings. We have a higher calling. “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 10:33).
Believers who point
out Church teachings or challenge others to follow God’s standards are
sometimes called Pharisees or zealots. They are told they are more interested
in the letter of the law than the spirit of the law. But the law does have
letters. I've said before that those who grew up in a strict environment need to learn about God's grace and those who grew up in a lax environment need to learn God's rules. I'm in the latter, but I sometimes fear preaching what I learn for fear of being seen as unloving.
The Pharisees whom Jesus challenged were chided not for their laws but for
their hypocrisy. And we all can be hypocrites at times. We fail to do what we
preach is right. But rather than changing what we preach, we should change our
actions to match. If the rule is “be perfect” and we are imperfect, it is
better to become perfect than to create a rule “be imperfect.”
The first word Jesus
uttered once he began his ministry was “repent.” Jesus loves us all. He died
for us all. That doesn’t mean he approves of all our choices. We are all
welcome, but we must repent and turn from our sin. It would be sinful to
withhold the truth from someone because of modern notions of relativism or
ecumenism.
One of the teachings
of Jesus that even non-Christians love is “judge not.” When Christians point
out ideas or behaviors that contradict Christian morality, they are reminded to
not judge. But the secular world telling Christians to not judge really means
“Christians, shut up.” They want to be tolerant of religion as long as religion
is kept behind closed doors for a couple of hours a week. Displaying or
preaching religious ethics is too “judgmental.” And didn’t your God say not to
judge? Don’t be a hypocrite.
The problem, of
course, is that Jesus actually said, “Judge not lest ye be judged” (Mt 7:1). It
is a call for righteous judgment and an end to hypocrisy, not a call for
relativism and complete tolerance for all actions. We cannot judge a person’s
soul, his intentions, or his state of grace. We can call out evil actions. We
can instruct others to turn from sin. We cannot docilely let evil be tolerated
out of fear of being called judgmental hypocrites.
“Forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us.” The second part of that sentence is my least favorite
part of the Lord’s Prayer. Sure I want God’s forgiveness, but I’m not so sure I
want to be forgiven only as much as I’ve forgiven. I’m a sinner and a
hypocrite. I should work on that. The best way to not be a judgmental hypocrite
isn’t changing the standards but to change myself, to turn away from sin, to
work toward perfection. I’ll fail, but I’ll put the work and the trust in.
God’s grace will cover the rest of the way. He is perfect; I am imperfect. His
rules are perfect; my adherence is imperfect. It isn’t complicated after all.
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