2017/4/22
I like to listen to the radio on my way to work sometimes. Usually that either consists of npr, or traffic stations. And one of the things that I like about npr is that they tend to format their stories as story telling, as opposed to trying to sell you an interesting article title. One of my most recent listens that I enjoyed involved drug addiction in Portugal, and how decriminalizing drug addiction has positively affect people. I highly recommend listening to the ~4 min audio or reading the transcript before continuing further.
During my time being a Christian, and being highly involved in my church community during my time in college, I noticed a culture that I wanted to change, but I wasn't sure how to describe it until now. And it was the culture of secretly judging people we label as "less holy." Now you probably don't use that term, or call address people that way explicitly, but unconsciously, many of us do it.
I see it in the behavior and mindset of so many college students. They don't want to do the things that other view as "sinful" or "unholy," hiding their shameful things and making a concerted effort to create a facade that appears as if they are doing all the right things, but internally struggle, and often times break from the church whether by pressure or by guilt. Others don't care to hide their actions, and quickly get ostracized by others in the church. And I come back to this one burning question as a Christian. Why are we (the church) driving these people away? Why are we denying them ministry? And what can we do to do to prevent that from continuing to be our mindset?
The Bible paints a perfect picture of this in the Gospels by, yes you guessed it, the Pharisees. Strongly law-driven Jews who did not want to associate with the sinful and unclean. Mark 2:17, Jesus states that he is present not for the healthy, but for the sick, and in Luke 15:2, the Pharisees mutter about how Jesus invites sinners and tax collectors to dine with him. Although spiritual fellowship cannot be necessarily done with those who do not faith, Jesus fellowships with sinners for the purpose of bringing them closer to God, regardless of social status.
Often, I feel that we feel more comfortable being like the Pharisees, keeping within the circle of people who know, listen to, and follow law. But is that what Jesus wanted from us? To be comfortable being surrounded by the "holy huddle"?
So what is my proposal? A reversal of how we treat our community groups. To not treat sinfulness as a poison to avoid and reject, but as an opportunity to lift up those who might be struggling. To openly accept the confessions of those who have real sin struggles, and instead of ignoring, to help. To not criminalize people, but to urge improvement, help, and true counsel.