The problem with the world is me.
Let me tell you why I am a problem. I have said unkind things to my wife, kids and friends. I have judged everyone around me. If you spent 24 hours taking notes on me, you'd see subtle, self-centered activity all day long. But the primary way I'm a problem isn't the sin I commit. It's the good work I omit.
We Christians have been in the sin-management ballgame for a long time. Don't get me wrong. Paying close attention to the wrong you do is a good thing. But when you talk with people outside the church, they assume sin-management is the essence of Christianity -- not following Jesus. They feel like Christians are primarily interested in making the whole world conform to a set of rules. Even more troubling to them is the fact that the rules Christians have focused on publicly have more to do with the sin others shouldn't do than the good Christians should do. As a quick example, I'm not aware of any Christians who, after reading the sermon on the mount, have petitioned congress for a law that mandates we give away all but one coat. To the outside world, we appear like the Pharisees we heard about yesterday -- and it's not just because they've read us wrong. It's partially because we've defined Christianity in a limited way that hasn't put following Jesus and doing good at its core.
And let's be honest, it's just a whole lot easier to focus on what other people shouldn't do than how we should follow Jesus. You and I have been reading Luke. We've seen the way of life Jesus calls us to. WHOA! This way of life involves things like dying to self, taking up your cross, lending to enemies without expecting repayment, selling all your possessions, forgiving everyone who has wronged you, not returning violence with violence, giving up your status, moving in with the poor, etc. Following Jesus is, pardon the expression, lunacy (it's also eternal life). It's so much easier to follow a religion that prohibits certain activity than it is to be a part of the die-to-yourself-and-become-servant-to-all, world-transformation movement Jesus began.
Which brings me back to why I am the problem. As I mentioned above, this has more to do with the good I omit than the sin I commit. I'm the problem because most of the time I refuse to insert myself into the problems of the world. This is what we see Jesus choose to do every day -- and never from a distance. He takes responsibility for the sin and brokenness of the world and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, consistently does something about it. I am the problem because I struggle to do the same. I am the problem because I don't have the Kingdom of God in my heart.
How are you the problem? What's the good you're not doing . . and why aren't you doing it?
And, as always, if you have any great stories -- big or small -- to share from the journey you're on, take a few minutes to let us know.
Posted on
Mon, February 25, 2008
by Jason Brown