5/27/2017 0 Comments Streets of Gold A friend of mine was really upset with one of her kids. She was lamenting how her child had committed “the worst sin ever” and how upset she was with this child. The thing about the conversation that struck a chord with me was how she had classified her own child’s sin as “the worst ever” while close family members had done the same thing to my daughter’s sin. In both cases, the young adults in question had made bad choices and sinned, but they had done completely different things; yet people close to them ascribed “The Worst Sin ever” to their actions. Why do we do that? Somewhere along the way, we all develop our own personal hierarchy of sin. “This must be worse than that and since I don’t do that, I ‘m not that bad”, seems to be the reasoning many Christians adhere to. Do we really think that when we get to Heaven and the pearly gates open onto the golden streets a heavenly tour will begin? Can you picture an angelic host guiding us down the street? “Up here on the right you will see the palatial estate of Mother Theresa.” “To the left, the Martin Luther King Jr. Mansion can be seen.” Hundreds of souls on the heavenly tour bus pressing their noses up against the glass of windows trying to catch a glimpse of the pillars of the Christian movement. Paul, Peter, and John all have beautiful estates in accordance with their ministries. We hang a left at King David’s palace and head to the more meager places of heaven. A whole block for the televangelists of the 80s. More good than bad earned them each a nice split-level ranch with 3 ½ baths. “On the other side of the tracks”, our host’s voice rings out, “is shanty town. That is where all the criminals who found Jesus behind bars reside.” “And lastly, we have put all the homosexuals in a van down by the river” As absurd as the above illustration is, I really think that is what some people believe. Murderers, gays, and the occasional politician are all evil beyond measure; and it is our job to make sure they know that! Never mind the part that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, their sin is more abhorrent so persecution is acceptable. Most people consider murder the worst crime you can commit, but what does Jesus say about murder? In Matthew 5:22, He says that “anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgement”. God looks at anger like it is a capital offense. Adultery, pornography, and homosexuality are all sins of a carnal nature. Amazingly, we can excuse anyone of these as a fling, a fad, or a fact of life; but all are sin. Sadly, we judge people caught in these disruptive behaviors and point fingers at them when they are exposed. Yet, the bible teaches us that anyone who looks at another with lust in their eyes is guilty of the crime of adultery. We heave pebbles of condemnation at others who have the more noticeable or grievous sins never noticing the boulder of judgement hurling towards us. The planks in our own eyes create a blindness to our shortcoming while magnifying other people’s issues. I think that is why gossip is listed so often in the bible as a sin; it’s the easiest sin to commit, yet the hardest to realize you’re doing. And its effects can be just as devastating as a knife in the back to the victim and the gossiper. God calls all sin: sin. The great thing is, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, you can be forgiven simply by asking for it. How wonderful it is to feel that restoration in relationship with our Holy Father; how devastating it is to be rejected by fellow believers who want to remind us how terrible our sin was compared to theirs. I’ve been enraged when someone cuts me off in traffic, and seethed at idiots who don’t know how to use a turn signal. I’ve checked out the tight tush of the guy in front of me in the checkout line at the store, and drooled over the shirtless celebrities on T.V. I’ve fallen way short of the glory of God. How can a murderous, lustful gossiper like me condemn another whose sin looks different than mine? I crawled out of a gutter of my own making full of fear and self-loathing. Had I encountered someone with a spirit of condemnation, I might have slunked right back in. But the open arms of forgiven and forgiving Christians helped me to restoration. We can’t continue to label people “The Worst Sin Ever” sinner and expect them to want to come back to the church. The kingdom of heaven is peopled with former sinners. Murderers, abortionists, robbers, thieves, and even gossips walk the streets of gold and worship God with the angels. And I don’t think any of them live in a van down by the river.
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AuthorI am a Christian, a wife, a mom, and a part-time basket case who wants to be a full time writer.
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