Live righteously like the good Samaritan
Remember those rabbits I told you about awhile back? Well I found out that they still have them. I don’t know why, but it makes me so crapping mad!!! Maybe its because Christian friends are defending their behaviors, maybe its because I feel like a hypocrite because I don’t follow all of the rules. Maybe its just the attitudes that it is alright to break rules if we feel that they don’t suit us. But doesn’t this just transfer over to other areas of life? If I can’t even follow easy, simple rules like not bringing animals into the dorms, how in the world will I muster up enough strength to follow difficult, hard rules like resisting the temptation to steal, lie, cheat, and commit adultery. Perhaps having a rabbit isn’t a big deal, but what does it say about our character and our respect for law, especially just laws. And our lack of remorse? Isn’t remorse and repentance and hatred of our sin a requirement of Christ’s salvation? Its not even my problem I guess. I shouldn’t even care about them because I am not perfect, but then again do we ourselves have to be perfect to point out behavior that is sinful? Are we not allowed to help our stumbling brothers and sisters if we ourselves stumble?
Which leads me to a story about myself. I like to take cookies out of the dining centers. We aren’t supposed to take anything out. We can eat it in the dining center, but we cannot save it for later. I use the excuse that since I pay a lot of money for that food I should be able to take it out. I know, its a bad excuse and it is sin for me to do it, so I have stopped as of late because I realized that it is just as wrong for me to take a cookie as it is for me to steal from the convenience store down the street. But my friends made me so mad. They absolutely forbade me from taking things from the dining center because I am a guy who plays by the books (mostly in reference to me “squealing” on the rabbit people), and if I play by the books I cannot rightfully take the cookies out of the dining center. Ok, agreed. So then I politely would point out something that they do that is wrong (perhaps that was wrong of me to do, turn the other cheek, etc.) but they justified it by saying that they don’t play by the books all the time, so it doesn’t really matter!!!
How can this be?! How can Christians say this?! Since when is sin relative to our behavior? Since when is something greater sin for me because I sin less often (so they say), but it less sin for them because they sin more? Last time I checked sin was sin regardless of whether or not you are “more of a sinner”. As Christians we shouldn’t be making up excuses to sin. I’m calling out all of us, not just me, but you, your neighbor, your congregation, your parish!!! We all need to start following Christ, living the life he has called us to. We need to start striving to live righteously, to be the light upon the hill for the world. We need to call each other out on our behaviors. We need to call the rest of the world to righteousness in Christ, even if it means being unpopular, if it means losing friends, even if it means losing a job, or our families. Isn’t what Christ did important enough? Isn’t Christ life changing? I believe that it is the Christian’s lack of transformation that turns the rest of the world away from Christ. The transformation we experience has to be more than just a fire or excitement for God, but a whole change in the way we live!!! I can’t be excited for God and then screw girls, steal things, party, cuss, and live a worldly life and expect to win people for God’s kingdom. I have to live righteously and soberly.
The one place that I feel empowered enough to live that way is the Roman Catholic Church. For multiple reasons I feel and know that the Church that Christ started is the first place that this transformation will begin. Why? Because they stress works as a part of salvation, and works is another term for righteous living, doing the right thing. When you stress salvation through faith alone, you throw behavior out the window, you don’t need to be good to be saved. And we wonder why Christians can be some of the worst behaved Americans and world citizens.
Sorry for the rant, I just had to vent about those rabbits.
