The Sounds of Silence: Sin (Part 3)
“I used to say of David that if I was stuck in a foreign jail somewhere accused unduly and if they would allow me one phone call, I would call David.
Why? He would come and get me. That's a friend. Somebody who would come and get you.”
-Jim Rohn
Our only hope when we are struggling with darkness is that somebody WILL come along with a light. We need someone we can count on to look for us if we lose our way and steady us when we lose our balance, as we all do.
“We say we hate the sin but love the sinner, but we hardly ever bring that into the light. It’s so hard to make the distinction so that it’s clear to the sinner.” (From the novel Enemy Within by Robert K.Tanenbaum)
“Church” should be a place where we are reminded that, while holiness is the goal, no one is immune from sin. We all make bad choices sometimes, and we all have things in our past we’d give anything to take back.
There’s a big difference between coming alongside to lift up a struggling brother and sitting in judgment on someone who’s fighting the same enemy we are.
“…yelling at people who already know that they are in trouble has never helped them all. They feel bad enough ...” (From The Joy of Being Human by Eugene Kennedy, hereafter indicated by **)
In his book, Mr. Kennedy shares a number of thought-provoking insights about the struggle with sin, particularly with those we thought we’d already battled and put behind us.
Looking at where we used to be and the distance we’ve fallen can be disheartening, and the path between wherever we’ve landed and “home” can seem overwhelming. We aren’t meant to make the journey alone but to walk beside one another on the road to healing.
A redemptive community must be a place where we, though flawed, are welcomed with open arms, without scrutiny or judgment and reminded that:
“the Gospels are filled with stories of journeys and of people who lose their way on them …
(Christ came) to help us stand again after we have fallen...” **
… I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Romans 7:18-19
I’m glad Paul decided to speak so frankly about that awful conflict between the “noble” part of ourselves and that side we’d rather not acknowledge but which, unfortunately, is all too much a part of our humanity.
“… it is searing to face the residual selfishness that we can carry into our adult lives.” **
It certainly is.
Especially disheartening are those times we find ourselves battling with “issues” we thought we’d already fought and put behind us. I understand the temptation to “run away screaming and searching for sackcloth and ashes” **
Ashamed, confused, or frightened by darkness we can’t bear to see in ourselves, we come up with all kinds of ways not to: blame it on someone else, rationalize, ignore, or deny it - as though pretending it doesn’t exist somehow takes away its power.
If only any of that worked! Honestly, though, we are more likely to be undone by the sin we can’t or won’t see than that which we confront honestly.
“…. the real problem arises when we are afraid or ashamed to admit our faults … Sin closes its grasp on us only when we cannot call it by its rightful name.” **
The more we try to understand instead of panic in the face of our own “ugly truths,” the more we are able to embrace and appreciate the redemptive power of His grace in our lives.
Understanding our darkness doesn’t at all mean being casual about our struggles with sin. But it does mean that rather than hating ourselves or wallowing in guilt, we honestly examine and turn over to God that which needs redemption.
Counting on His righteousness instead of trying to defend our own, we not only are able to live more calmly and courageously in our own lives but “the more compassionate we will be toward our fellow pilgrims who may be having some kind of personal difficulty.” **
Isn’t that what being a “redemptive community” is all about?
“The essence of Christian teaching lies in the fact that sinners can save each other, that the Spirit of God is poured forth in the hearts that have been cracked and broken by the pressures of the human condition … We are all the sick to whom Christ came in preference to those who are well; because we know the strains and shortcomings of living we have the power to breathe life into each other.” **
** From The Joy of Being Human by Eugene Kennedy
Coming Soon - The Sounds of Silence: Confusion