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(We saw a few crashes. Did the biker crash because of some
punishment being dealt out by God, or was it the fact that
while driving super fast he made a mistake? He in essence
sinned and when he did he paid the price immediately) |
This weekend I was reminded of an idea I've been thinking for some time now. While watching motorcycle drivers race around the streets of a small town in New Zealand for the Burt Monroe Challenge, the notion grew until I had to post about it. It was amazing watching them fly by at ridiculously fast speeds, most of the time with great control and focus. But if we just watched long enough eventually someone crashed. The more I watched them race by the more I was drawn back in my mind to countless conversations I have had with people about sin.
This might seem odd but I think by in a moment it will all become clear.
The way we think of and talk about sin can be quite destructive, especially for those who have yet to begin a relationship with God.
Let me back up a little bit and explain. Working as a high school minister for four years just out of seminary was good and bad. In many ways I felt that I had learned so much about Christianity, our faith, and its history that I might not ever be able to talk about a good deal of what I had learned in the presence of church going folks, because they had already been taught other views since childhood (well if I wanted to keep my job anyway). But at the same time I found high schoolers eager to listen to pretty much anything, especially if it came across as honest. The students I worked with were willing to be challenged, ready to be pushed, but abhorred anything they perceived as less than genuine. If I did not believe what I was saying they stopped listening. Luckily for me I usually do not say too much I do not believe in, although it does start arguments at times.
During these four years I discovered that the concept of sin was problematic. A good number of students were already deep within a rebellious phase of their lives when I met them, and yet at the same time if I invested in building a relationship with a student they seemed willing to talk openly about almost anything (some even prior to really knowing me at all which was always surprisingly fun). Many of these students drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, were having sex, had issues with honoring their parents, and everything in between.
Spending time with these students allowed me to see there were some issues with how they understood Christianity before even truly really being introduced. Living in Memphis, TN there was no lack of knowledge about general Christian concepts in an average youth. In part this was the problem, though in all fairness, it was not so much these students had heard wrongly but perhaps been taught kind of sideways, at least in how I see many issues.
A prevailing conversation always circled around the idea of sin - how could it not when trying to explain why a relationship with God is necessary right? First we have to make sure everyone knows truly how much of a "bastard" (sorry) they really are so that we can accept God's grace. And while it is Biblical truth that the greater the sinner the more he/she will understand God's grace in their life (parable in second half of Luke 7), so many students I met did not need one more beat down but rather was in dire need of any affirmation they could find (so much so that cigarettes, alcohol, idiotic friends with no concern for their welfare, drugs, and sex were welcome parts of their lives because they falsely felt these things gave them some form of at least approval).
Every single Wednesday night we shared the gospel. We were thankfully encouraged to do so creatively and with passion. I found the more I shared the gospel the more I felt compelled to make it "good news" for the students. A small tweak I made to my talks focused carefully on sin, which generally our average student saw as things they did wrong and then in turn were punished for by God. This is actually pretty common. And while I am sure at times God does, as any good parent, take us out back to the woodshed (as needed), I think a better understanding that I came to was that God was always actively trying to keep us from sinning and fixing the sin in our lives, with much less focus on punishing us for the sin.
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(I know the sinful dark side of myself all to well.
Maybe there is a way of telling me that God can free
me from this part of myself without first smashing me
to pieces with the doctrine of sin fully explananed) |
Here's the switcharoo, in almost all cases sin is punishment enough of its own accord. If I smoke cigarettes there is a good chance I will develop many various problems - not punishment from God but actual side effects of my own choices. If I drive to fast and break the speed limit my chances of crashing and dying go up drastically. If I cheat on my wife she will most likely leave me for the lousy scoundrel I am. All Christians know that sin fully developed leads to death - a serious issue. It destroys the lives of those who sin and the lives of those around them. But the distinction I am making is this destruction comes from us, our history of making sinful choices, our ancestors history of making sinful choices, and from living in a world where sin is abundantly wrapping its disgusting arms around us.
With this distinction, I could free myself up to preach actual good news to my students. God not only does want a relationship with you, but loves you so much that God would do anything to remove sin from your life (yes including at times admonishment and growth).
Do you feel the difference such a small way of talking about sin could make in the lives of insecure students who already are seeking affirmation in any place they can find it? What if we gave them the only affirmation that will ever matter by actually affirming them instead of destroying them further? Most of us know how terrible of a person we are and do not need the extra weight of another person reminding us of that fact. I am the worst sinner of all and will gladly weigh mine against Paul's one day for the title prize.
In the meantime I'm going to preach that Jesus came to give life and life more abundant. I have a firm belief that our God is alive. I believe this God works in the lives of those who pursue the truth of God's love in their lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. I think I can trust that power to be responsible for some of the process don't you? What if we don't fully explain just how much of a sinner every person truly is...? Do you believe God works in people's lives? Do you think your voice is the only way God works or speaks? Poppycock.
Let's all calm down, celebrate a little bit more, love a little more fiercely, and share GOOD NEWS with folks. Jesus is alive. Originally that was all of the good news needed to be, wrapped up with a nice little bow.
