If you follow us on Twitter, you probably know that we’re going through Isaiah 59 right now in our Tweets. (For those who aren’t following us on Twitter yet, find us at @insp_faith)
Something struck me as I was reading through Isaiah 59 this week. I call it the language of “them.”
What I mean by the language of “them” is my tendency to read certain passages in the Bible as if they relate to “them” and not to me, or us.
Let me give you an example:
Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are evil thoughts;
ruin and destruction mark their ways.
The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks in them will know peace.
Isaiah 59:6-8
Dathan from The Ten Commandments, my stereotypical view of "the bad guys" in Scripture
Even though right before and after these passages, Isaiah switches from using “them” language to using “us” language, internally, I still stay in the mindset that all of this depressing talk about sin and injustice relates to “them” – the “wicked.” When I think of the wicked who rush into sin and shed innocent blood, I picture the bad guys in those old Bible movies, like Dathan from The Ten Commandments. The wicked people the Bible must be referring to are slightly overweight, stuck-up gluttons dressed in old-fashioned robes. With an image like that in my head, it’s hard to relate these passages to people in today’s world or to myself.
Even when I realize how silly my mental images are and make an effort to apply these Scriptures to contemporary times, it’s still hard to bring it home to me and people I know. It’s much easier to look at leaders like Hitler and Stalin who clearly shed a lot of innocent blood and are considered wicked by most people’s standards.
But me…I’m not so bad, right? My friends and family, none of them have committed murder or stolen from those who are impoverished.
Or so I think.
And so it appears, on the surface.
But when we’re all really honest about the world’s problems…when I realize that I take a long shower on days when I’m tired, with absolutely no thought to the resources I take for granted that people in other parts of the world are literally dying for…when I think about the products I use that at some point in their production are polluting groundwater and rivers…when I dwell on the methane that my trash is creating somewhere in the world after it leaves the garbage can in my kitchen, I realize that maybe I’m not quite as different from those “wicked” people in the Bible after all. Maybe I am contributing to violence and injustice, without even thinking about it.
The thing is, even though I know about these problems, even though I see injustice that I’m indirectly connected to every time I watch the news, I’m like the people in Isaiah 59. Verse 16 says, “Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.” I am part of that crowd of sinners that is mankind, refusing to shun evil, lest I become a prey.
So what’s to be done about that? Am I saying that we should all withdraw from the world and its corrupt systems? Should I stop using water or using any material goods, knowing that my use of them is hurting somebody somewhere? Should I stop paying my taxes, knowing that some of the money is probably going toward systemic injustices, toward pollution, toward abortion?
I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think that’s what God is calling me and calling you to do. I don’t think we’re supposed to withdraw from the world. And I don’t think we’re supposed to be wracked with paralyzing guilt over all the evils we’re voluntarily or involuntarily committing.
The Good News is in Isaiah 59:17, “He saw that there was no one, He was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm worked salvation for Him, and His own righteousness sustained Him.”
Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God is bringing redemption to us and to creation. Do I have an obligation to join with Him in that work of redemption? You bet. And that’s going to show up in small ways, through loving my neighbor, through recycling, through composting, through telling people about Jesus, through doing what I can do to fight injustice.
And it’s going to come through confession and repentance. Through realizing that even if I can’t change the world entirely and bring about God’s justice in my lifetime, I have a duty to intercede in prayer and to confess my sins and our corporate, societal sins with a contrite heart to the LORD.
I have full confidence that one day Jesus will physically return to the earth and restore everything that has gone wrong through sin and death. But until that day comes, let us identify ourselves with the “thems” of Scripture and realize the role we have to play in confession, repentance, and justice.
Last night, the music pastor at my church gave out a sheet of paper to us during choir practice. It was titled “Cleansing for Personal Renewal.” A quick glance told me that the sheet listed basic topics where we might have unresolved sin in our lives and a few scriptures about living holy lives.
Oh man, why is he taking time away from rehearsal to go over something so basic? I thought. Then I started reading the sheet.
Questions like
“Have you been holding a grudge against anyone?”
“Do you avoid people you dislike but need your love?”
“Are you jealous when others are promoted?”
and
“Is there anything you would be unwilling to give up if God asked you?” jumped out and hit me like a ton of bricks. These were not just basic, glossed-over questions about whether you were desiring holiness, talking to God regularly, and fellowshipping with other Christians. These questions were probing. They were applicable. They were painful to answer.
Looking over this intense sheet of questions made me realize how little we [ I ] like to talk about sin. Of course, there are Christians who are always talking about sin and condemning everyone to hell, whether they’ve committed adultery or used the “wrong” version of the Bible. But for most Christians I know, actually calling out and naming sin is pretty rare. We don’t like to draw attention to sin. We prefer to call it “making mistakes” or “being human.” Sure, we’re okay with saying, “Everyone sins,” but to say “How have I sinned?” is a whole other story. To put the label of “sin” on something we’ve thought, felt, or done is to fully admit to ourselves and to God that we know we’re wrong, and it’s not okay.
One of my favorite professors in college once said about confessing sins, “When you ask yourself these questions [deep, probing questions about personal sin], and something flashes on the computer screen of your mind, it doesn’t mean something’s forever broken. It just means you have some things you need to talk to God about.”
Our sin may not be okay, but it is always okay to talk to God about our sin. And once we’ve dealt with it, once we’ve stopped hitting delete on the “computer screen” of our minds, once we’ve allowed it to stay in front of us long enough to care and repent, it is finished. No more guilt. No more condemnation.
To be honest, when I think about answering the scrutinizing questions my music pastor gave us, I get a bit of spiritual paralysis. I’m afraid of what I’ll find when I look into my heart. I guess I’m afraid that God won’t really want me when all of my sin is on the table. I forget the things I wrote about in a post in November (Click here to read), that God is not afraid to deal with my sin, with my emotion, with my ugliness.
Confronting our sin is only truly horrific if the blood of Jesus isn’t there to cover us. As a co-heir with Christ in the eyes of God, I should have full confidence joining with King David and saying to God,
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-4
Has confronting your own sin ever made you uncomfortable? Do you find it easier to point the finger at someone else or to keep the idea of sin so broad and vague that you don’t have to examine yourself?
Spend some time today asking God to search your heart. If something pops up on the “computer screen” of your mind, don’t allow fear to push it away. Trust God to cleanse you and heal you. Be encouraged, for “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” (Romans 8:1)
You may have noticed a lot of buzz on the internet yesterday about World AIDS Day. December 1 marked the 21st World AIDS Day, and the entire month of December has been set aside as World AIDS Month. This day and month were set aside to promote awareness of HIV/AIDS and to encourage support for those affected by the disease.
As I came across a large amount of Tweets and Facebook ads promoting awareness of Worlds AIDS Day, I figured I should get Inspired Faith on the bandwagon. I posted some AIDS Day-related Tweets and started researching some websites with stories and charities related to AIDS so I could write a blog post.
As I read stories from people who have become infected, I noticed something surprising. I knew that AIDS is only transferred through sexual contact or blood contact, so it wasn’t surprising to me that many people I read about had contracted AIDS through premarital or extramarital sex or through drug use. What surprised me was my gut reaction to those stories. I found myself skimming stories, looking for people I could have legitimate sympathy for–people who had been infected unknowingly, perhaps through a blood transfusion or through an unfaithful spouse’s bad choices. My initial reaction toward the people who “chose” infection for themselves by engaging in unsafe sex with multiple partners or by using drugs was that they deserved what happened to them. They made their beds, now they had to sleep in them, so why should I feel sorry for them?
When I started to really think about my initial reaction to those stories, the Holy Spirit began to convict me. Was my attitude really that of Jesus?
Then I began to think about how the Church as a whole generally deals with the AIDS pandemic. I’ve never been part of a local church that mentioned AIDS, much less contributed money, time, or support to AIDS victims. Why? Could it be that a majority of the Church has the same gut reaction I had to many AIDS victims? They sinned; now they’re paying for it. And instead of having compassion on these sinners, maybe we feel scared of them. Maybe we’d rather distance ourselves and deal with “lesser” sinners whose consequences of sin aren’t so obvious. Maybe we don’t like the uncomfortable reminder of our own sin nature and the reminder that the wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. I believe that God wants us to be more active in sharing His gift of eternal life in Christ with AIDS victims and less active in our condemnation of those who have sinned.
In John 8:3-11, we see a picture of Jesus’ attitude toward a potential AIDS victim:
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
The woman in this story was engaged in behavior many of the people I read about were engaged in. Like the Pharisees, my initial reaction was condemnation. But by the Spirit’s tender cultivation, I pray that my attitude and the attitude of the Church would become like Jesus’ attitude toward this woman. His attitude was not one that embraced her sin, but it was one that embraced her. We always hear the phrase, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner.” World AIDS Month is an opportunity for us to put that idea into practice.
Rather than turn our hearts away from those who have participated in unrighteous acts, let’s commit to doing something to love them. Let’s commit to seeing ourselves in the same boat. After all, we were once slaves to sin ourselves, and if not for God’s gift of life through Christ, where would we be?
There are many Christian organizations that are committed to practically loving those who have contracted AIDS. You can find links to their websites at the end of this post. If you aren’t able to or don’t feel led to commit service or money to an AIDS organization, take some time to do something even more powerful. Pray.
Pray for those who have contracted AIDS. Most of them are scared, lonely, and depressed. You can understand why. Pray for their comfort and that those who don’t know Christ would come to know His power and His love. Pray that those who feel shame would release it to God and accept His grace even as they repent for past choices.
Pray for the hearts of Christians, that we would not be like the Pharisees, but that we would be like Jesus and love those who “made their own beds.” Pray that we would be examples to the world of compassion, grace, and service concerning the AIDS pandemic.
Pray for those who don’t yet have AIDS but are in danger of contracting it, through their current lifestyle or through temptations and circumstances in their lives. Pray that the Spirit will bring believers into their lives to love them with Christ’s love and to give them hope for the future.
Finally, there are many cases throughout the world of people who have contracted AIDS through no choice of their own. There are villages in rural China where peasants donated blood to local blood banks to earn extra money. The blood banks were contaminated with AIDS, and entire villages have been devastated by the disease. There are places in Africa where people believe that if a man has sex with a virgin, it will cure his AIDS. Young women have been raped, and instead of curing the man’s disease, contracted the disease themselves. Pray for these victims who were taken advantage of, whose lives were stolen from them. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, and these stories are a powerful depiction of that. Pray for education in developing nations, so that deadly medical errors would not happen. Pray for integrity in leaders who oversee business and medical safety. Pray that those who take advantage of the powerless would be convicted of their sin. Pray for comfort and supernatural peace for victims and their families.
Jesus, You know the depths of our hearts–how sinful each of us can be. We praise You for giving Your life for us, for paying the price for our sin. We pray for those who have been infected with AIDS, that they would seek and find You with all their hearts. Even though their bodies will perish, we pray that they would find eternal life in You. We pray that the Church would not be a place of condemnation for those who have sinned, but that we would be a place that freely offers Your gift of life to all who seek it. We pray for AIDS victims who contracted the disease through no decision of their own. How tempted they must be to feel forsaken by You! We pray that they would feel Your comfort and know that You are a friend to the powerless and that You will be their judge, their healer, and their redeemer. Teach us, Your people, how to be Your hands and feet in the world.
Christian AIDS Organizations:
World Vision http://www.worldvision.org
Blood:Water Mission http://www.bloodwatermission.com
World Relief http://www.worldrelief.org
Christian HIV/AIDS Alliance http://www.chaa.info
Christian Mission Aid http://www.cmaid.org
