I was reminded again recently of our humanity. Another church leader had a “moral failure”. Of course, this type of thing creates a feeding frenzy among the anti-religious faction, and embarrasses quite a few Christians in the process. I think the thing that surprises me the most, is that we are surprised at all. I mean, let’s face it – we all have moral failures. As much as we don’t want to admit it as Christians, none of us live a sinless life. Even after salvation we continue to struggle with sin. It is that struggle that puts us in need of a Savior and right smack in the sights of God’s grace. And yet, we treat someone who has messed up as the enemy when their “moral failure” is discovered. It’s not that we’re any better. We just haven’t been caught. Yet. So my question is, how good is good enough? Actually, the question should be, how deep do you have to hide your sinful nature to be used by God?
Before I go any further, I am not suggesting that what this leader did was good or right. Sin is sin. Sin is wrong. The Bible is clear that just because we experience God’s grace we are not to continue in a lifestyle of sinful behavior. What I am saying is that we all struggle with sin. Our particular sin may not be the same as someone else’s sin, but it is sin nonetheless. We tend to view those who are pastors especially, as being above sin somehow. As if once they become a pastor they are no longer prone to the same temptations as the rest of us, or that they somehow gain a greater ability to resist temptation because of their title. Really? I’ve got news for you. Pastors are human. Just like you. So let me ask you – do you sin?
I would say that if you are a Christian, you try not to. You resist temptation. You fight against the urge to do the wrong thing. And yet we still have “moral failures” on a fairly regular basis. We steal from our employers by wasting time at work. We don’t always show the love of Christ to those around us. We eat too much. We don’t treat our bodies like the temple of the Holy Spirit. We don’t obey the law when we are in a hurry to get somewhere. Especially if we encounter more delays and we are already late. When is the last time you drove the speed limit? These types of moral failures are obviously not on the same level as adultery or murder, and yet, they are moral failures. Jesus said that if you are angry with your brother, you are in danger of judgement, and if you lust for a woman you are guilty of adultery. Sin, great or small, is still sin.
I guess what I’m getting at is that we are so quick to condemn but not to forgive. It is this very kind of judgement that Jesus addressed in Matthew 6 when he admonished us not to judge. Don’t look at other people’s faults when you yourself have similar faults. One reader of an article on a pastor who had sinned pointed out that, statistically, most of the men condemning him for having a problem with pornography have the same problem. Yet we hold such men in high regard and are surprised when they don’t live up to our standards. Paul addresses this issue directly in Romans 7 where he says “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For 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… Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” Paul admitted that even though he wanted to do what was right, he didn’t always do the right thing.
Some Christians will take the teachings of men who have been caught in sin and declare that they have no value because the men who taught them were spiritually flawed. I will tell you right now that we are all spiritually flawed. Do we discount the teachings of Paul because he struggled with sin? Granted, some of us struggle with sin and others just give in to it. However, I would submit that men like Moses, David, Abraham, Noah, Peter and Paul all had spiritual flaws and yet God used them in spite of their flaws. I think we need to come to terms with our sinful nature – not embrace it, but come to terms with it – and realize that each person on the planet struggles at times with whether to do the right thing or not. And sometimes they (we) choose to not do the right thing.
So – how good is good enough? The answer to that question often depends on whether we’re talking about someone else, or ourselves. Let’s stop worrying about everyone else’s sin and take care of our own faults. Let God deal with the others. When it comes right down to it, none of us are good enough. That’s kind of the point of Christianity isn’t it?