Black and White
Psalm 139:23 says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
The Lord knows I struggle with negative people and people who judge other people, which simply means I’m guilty of both. In our times, people can say whatever they are thinking and criticize anyone who is different from them. They use offensive words that are meant to be! They want their words to be damaging. I struggle to love even my friends who write or say words that bring such pain to others.
You can read in the red letters the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:22-24, which says if you call your neighbor a fool (Raca), you’re guilty of damnation. You are guilty of murder. And yet we hear and read worse. Matthew 5:22
The problem I have is it is often justified even by my Christian friends. The problem is that this issue is not a gray area. It is a black-and-white issue. Over and over again, the Bible tells us to judge, not! Jesus taught his followers not to judge but instead to judge righteously (John 7:24). Therefore, you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself….. (Romans 2:1-3)
I hear it all the time: “When people sin, we must stand against it.” Okay, let’s look at the sin God hates—the sin that is an abomination to our Lord.
The Bible tells us that God hates evil, wickedness, and those who sow discord. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked schemes, thinking evil against others, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness, a person who stirs up conflict in the community. Proverbs 6:16-19An arrogant heart (Proverbs 16:5), insincere worship (Isaiah 1:13), and offering God a gift that is less than our best (Deut. 17:1) are all labeled “abominations” in the Old Testament.
We are all guilty of telling the Lord I don’t want you in my life. At some point, we’ve accepted the truth that Jesus is God. But all those things we call sin are just the ramifications of our refusal to allow Christ in. The one sin we all do that makes us sinners. The Black and White of sin is just that.
He calls us to love, forgive, and offer mercy and grace. Because that is what he has given us.
