Believe it or not, I first noticed this when I was a child – a few people I went to church with, good people who were faithful to family, God, and country, would occasionally say or do something I considered to be wrong. Usually, it was the use of a racial slur, but it could also be something I had been taught in a sermon not to do. See, I took the words of Jesus seriously, even though I didn’t always follow them, so I understood the imperfection of human beings at a very early age. Later, as I went to grade school and beyond, I learned of the depravity of the Nazis on a regular basis; I learned how an entire nation filled with mostly good people could allow horrific things to happen. I also heard some people – again, occasionally – defend the German people, saying they weren’t all bad. True – also, not true.
As I entered the ministry, I began to call these folks “Nice Racists.” And I am not exempt from these imperfections; we are all raised with biases – we all have bad thoughts jump into our heads from time to time – none of us can go through life perfectly. Still – are there limits to what we should allow? And who makes those limits? If a good person does something wrong, they still should be punished, right? If a criminal finds God while in prison, they should still do the time, correct? Are some sins worse than others, like venial and mortal sins in the Catholic faith? And how far should forgiveness go? When Jesus’ disciples asked Him how often we should forgive others, Jesus said “77” or “7 times 7” – which is a lot! But it is still limited.
Now, I see people posting nonsense about who can or can’t be a follower of Jesus. They base it on political party or some kind of litmus test based on one or two things they think is unforgivable. “If you vote for this person” or “if you think this is okay” have become the standards for sinfulness that is often used as a measure of whether to forgive – or not to forgive. I have seen a lot of good people do bad or, at least, not good things, including myself, so I think there is a place for grace and forgiveness. And because sin is subjective, this is a really difficult conversation to have. Still, there’s something about good intentions wrapped up in this question that I don’t have time or space to get to today. There’s also space for repentance, which needs to be considered as well. Stay tuned and throw your 2 cents in. Because I think we all could do better than we have been.
Prayer – Perfect God, You have created us with Your divine spark – and we are also imperfect. Be patient with us, we ask. Amen.
Today’s art is “Perfectionism” by Kiki Tolman.