CHRISTIAN ETHICS. WEEK ONE.

I'm taking an ethics class this fall. More specifically, a Christian Ethics class. That is, it the discussion of what the Bible and Jesus teach about right and wrong, how it is shaped by the community of the church and our world, and what are the motivations that cause us to behave a certain way- among other things.

Anyway, I am supposed to keep a private journal on my thoughts and then simply indicate that I've had at least one entry per week regarding the class on my honor to the professor.

Well, instead of private, I decided to do it publicly here on my blog. So, for the next 10 weeks, once a week, I'll post an response or a rant or a question about what I'm reading or wrestling with.

This week: I've been chewing on this question: "Are some sins worse than others?"

I know that the Scriptures teach that all have sinned. I know that they teach that the summation of all our "good works" is like filthy rags and thus, all sin is a fatal problem with humanity. I know that we can't overcome sin on our own and that I desperately need God to free me from myself. I think I understand depravity. But, are we all equally depraved?

IF WE ANSWER NO, ALL SIN IS NOT EQUAL... then we validate what seems to be a biblical truth that some sin can even be so grand as to be "unforgivable". At least one that is. I remind all our adult staff in our ministry that when we teach, God holds us to a higher standard according to James. When we say all sin is not equal, we seem to agree with the intention of the law that someone who lies to get out of a parking ticket shouldn't be on the same level as someone who lies to get out of murder. In our society, we have degrees of punishment for various "sins". For example, a child rapist should not get the same punishment as a young man who steals groceries to feed his family. Is this just our humanity or is it the divine reality flushed out in our judicial system?

IF WE ANSWER YES, ALL SIN IS EQUAL... then we validate the biblical reality that sin is evil. Period. All sin is a diversion from God and is thus bad by default. We seem to support the idea that God hates sin. All sin. We however must also then agree that degrees of bad are a human invention and that bad or evil is bad or evil, no matter how deep you go. I remember a set of ads post the horror of 9/11 where the government was trying to convince people who do drugs that they support terrorism, since those countries often supply the drugs. They were in essence saying, "Do drugs and you might as well start bomb buildings- they are in the same boat. They are equal." Which is the problem with this view. It produces the saying my fraternity brothers and I used to joke around with one another about. "If you're going to sin, might as well sin BIG." But this seems to go against the heart of the matter too. If this is true, then there is no such thing as "baby steps" that lead to holiness. You either sin or you don't. Period.

So, where does this all lead? Um...... good question. Welcome to the YES and NO reality of the mystery of following God. Yes, all sin is equal- so don't do it. No, all sin is not equal and some sins will take you farther from God faster and deeper than others- holiness is a pursuit and God will bless your travels, so for what it's worth, choose to sin small- or at the very least, sin less.

I think.