Monday, November 3, 2008

Hate the Sin, Not the Sinner

My momma told me this for most of my childhood and adulthood. It still rings true in my mind as I go about doing God's work to the best of my meager abilities. All too often we see this not ringing true with us as we view the lives of those around us, be it they are fellow Christ followers or those we are pursuing for Christ.

In Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, he addresses this issue in a round about sort of way when it comes to our fellow Christ followers. But it can also apply as we approach non-believers. "If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has all of you, to some extent............Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him" (2 Cor 2:5-8 NIV).

When someone is truly sorry for a sin they have committed, this means that we forgive and emotionally forget. It is impossible to mentally forget. If we don't, we risk doing damage to that person on a level that can be irreparable. And we put ourselves in God's place by leveling judgment, instead of love. It's a fine line that we all have trouble defining. But we must find the inner strength to get over ourselves and find the common ground.

This was hard for me to explain without being lengthy in one post so I am going to clarify my remarks further tomorrow. Please chime in with your thoughts.

Saying it once and leaving it there,
Jesus Freak Out!

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