We pretend that the worst sin you can commit is sexual. And—don’t get me wrong—sexual sin has serious implications.
But so does gossip. And divisiveness. And quarrelling—sins Christians routinely ignore. Mostly because we commit them.
I would suggest that just as many congregations have been ruined by gossip, divisiveness and quarrelling as have been stained by sexual sin. But you’d never know it given the way we talk about sin.
I’m all for surrendering our sexuality to Christ. But I’m also all for submitting our propensity to gossip, our divisiveness and our quarrelling to Jesus and dealing with that seriously.
Imagine what the church might look like if that happened.
And we haven’t even touched gossip, gluttony or envy yet, all things with which Christians routinely self-medicate their pain.
Maybe if Christians humbly confessed their sins first, the world would be more likely to come to terms with their sins.
So here’s an idea. Instead of pretending someone else’s sin is worse than your sin, confess your sin.
You’ll be in such a better place if you do that. And so will they.
You might actually be able to help them.
5. Church Problems: Judging Outsiders
This is a pet peeve of mine.
As I outlined here, we in the modern church have largely ignored Paul’s injunction to stop judging non-Christians. Even Jesus said he didn’t come into the world to judge it, but to save it.
I completely get the urge to judge our neighbours and even the world. Things bother me too.
