2008 Woodie Awards
Christianity: a call for compassion, not an excuse from it
By: Carrie Parker
Issue date: 2/28/07 Section: Opinion
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Carrie Parker
Staff Writer
I was saved at a very young age. I was raised in a Christian household, and I have been raised in Christ. I can give a list of common sins that I have never committed. This means God has protected me from countless amounts of trials and hardships that many other people go through. However, this also means that I've never had to overcome huge obstacles in my faith that so many others have had to overcome to believe in Jesus.
Does this make my faith any weaker? No. Does it give me an excuse to be closed-minded and unfeeling of other people who struggle more in their own faith? Absolutely not.
Even if I had lived a highly sheltered life, been saved and had continued to never commit any "serious" sins, my life would still be just as worthy of hell as any pedophile, rapist or serial killer rotting in a jail cell.
To use the excuse that everyone else has acted similarly would not only fail to make my sin less serious, it would also make me a liar. Proverbs 28:13 says, "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
Everybody stumbles and faces public judgment and humiliation for their sins at some point or another, and every human judges another. It is in our sinful human nature to judge others, placing ourselves on a pedestal. But Romans 2:1 reminds us that, "You who pass judgment do the same things."
Tragically, most people have spent so long looking down on others that they can't even imagine what it would be like to look up and behold Christ. We have closed our eyes to God's compassion. We are so self-centered that we're acutely aware of the pain we feel when others hurt us, but barely notice God's pain when we hurt him.
How can we expect to reach others and share God's mercy and compassion with them if we don't show them compassion ourselves? God shows unending kindness to sinners in hopes that they will repent. Being saved means that we take on the characteristics of God. One of the strongest changes that we should experience is showing that same kindness to people who don't deserve it. If we condemn everyone before we know them, we cannot expect to save them.
Staff Writer
I was saved at a very young age. I was raised in a Christian household, and I have been raised in Christ. I can give a list of common sins that I have never committed. This means God has protected me from countless amounts of trials and hardships that many other people go through. However, this also means that I've never had to overcome huge obstacles in my faith that so many others have had to overcome to believe in Jesus.
Does this make my faith any weaker? No. Does it give me an excuse to be closed-minded and unfeeling of other people who struggle more in their own faith? Absolutely not.
Even if I had lived a highly sheltered life, been saved and had continued to never commit any "serious" sins, my life would still be just as worthy of hell as any pedophile, rapist or serial killer rotting in a jail cell.
To use the excuse that everyone else has acted similarly would not only fail to make my sin less serious, it would also make me a liar. Proverbs 28:13 says, "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
Everybody stumbles and faces public judgment and humiliation for their sins at some point or another, and every human judges another. It is in our sinful human nature to judge others, placing ourselves on a pedestal. But Romans 2:1 reminds us that, "You who pass judgment do the same things."
Tragically, most people have spent so long looking down on others that they can't even imagine what it would be like to look up and behold Christ. We have closed our eyes to God's compassion. We are so self-centered that we're acutely aware of the pain we feel when others hurt us, but barely notice God's pain when we hurt him.
How can we expect to reach others and share God's mercy and compassion with them if we don't show them compassion ourselves? God shows unending kindness to sinners in hopes that they will repent. Being saved means that we take on the characteristics of God. One of the strongest changes that we should experience is showing that same kindness to people who don't deserve it. If we condemn everyone before we know them, we cannot expect to save them.
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