Love The Sinner. Hate The Sin.
The political scene is fun right now, am I right?
Look, I’m not asking everyone to agree, that would be absolutely non-sensical. All I’m asking for is just a little respect. Right Aretha?
It seems to me that many of the biggest areas of dissent come from issues where we, as Christians, are basing our views and opinions off of things we find or infer from the Bible.
Which is wonderful (it is the Word of God after all) but it doesn’t allow for us to compromise our views and that unflinching, unbending view is often seen as hateful or stubborn. Which sucks, because Jesus doesn’t tell us to be hateful.
He calls us to love sinners yet hate the sin they are caught in, just as He did.
This is not a new concept. We’ve heard this for years now. What has been new to me in the past few days is a simple question.
Why?
Why should we hate sin in our lives and the lives of those around us? Let’s chase this down for a second.
“We should hate sin because God tells us to.”
Why?
“Because it is evil.”
Why?
“Because it keeps us from living the best life, the life that is walked most closely with God, possible.”
This is why I think we are called to love the sinner, but hate the sin. Because God knows sin is the worst option for us, the same way a parent knows a hot stove is a terrible option for a child.
But so often in my life I have found myself hating the sin out of fear. Fear that the sin of a person will keep them from God. That they will be separated by their deeds.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV
Our works do not save us, only Jesus can do that. So why do we, I, approach sinners with a fear that says, “If you don’t repent you will die.” My job is not to make people repent.
My job is to introduce people to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.
Then Jesus can perfect their faith, convicting through His Spirit the areas that need to change. But it is not my responsibility to change people. It is only my responsibility to love them.
So what does that look like?
“I don’t want you to stop looking at pornography because you’re going to go to hell, I want you to stop because your are destroying your relationships with unhealthy expectations you’ve derived from a screen.”
“I don’t want you stop lying to get you into heaven, I want you to stop lying so you can live a life of trust and love with the people in your life.”
Why? What is our motivation when we want people to change a behavior or lifestyle?
I think homosexuality and abortion, two huge issues today, are wrong. I think there is an emotionally, physically, and spiritually healthier way to live. I want that for people because I think it is the best option, not out of any righteousness complex.
If you disagree, that’s okay. I’ll be sad, but you can disagree. But I won’t stop loving you.
And at the end of the day, here’s something we can agree on: We all want what is best for people.
Unfortunately we disagree about what that is, but at least we have a common interest.
Better lives for all.
