Earlier this year, while travelling in our caravan, we encountered three incidents of rule-breaking in one day. A woman drove the wrong way out of the shopping centre car park, and we had to swerve to get around her – a bit scary when towing the van on a narrow road. Another woman walked her two dogs in the botanic gardens which specified, “No dogs.” A man in the caravan park had his dog off-leash.
As Christians, what should our reaction be to rule-breakers?
It’s easy to immediately go on the attack when we feel offended – yelling; making rude hand signals out of the car window; blasting the car horn; attempting to intimidate the offender; dobbing them in; or gossiping about them behind their back.
Although this might be a common response, it is certainly NOT what God says we should do. The Bible points out that we are ALL sinners, and no one is any better than another.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8 (NIV)
Sometimes we don’t want to hear this. We think to ourselves, “Yes, we might all be sinners, but surely I’m not as bad as x. After all, I’ve never done [the terrible thing they have done].”
Were the three incidents sins? Interesting question. Rules were broken. But no one got hurt; other people were doing it too; we’ve done it too; it’s only a little thing. Jerry Bridges, in his book, “Respectable Sins,” writes about “the subtle sins of believers.” https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/930225.Respectable_Sins
“The entire concept of sin has virtually disappeared from our American culture at large and has been softened, even within many of our churches, to accommodate modern sensibilities,” Respectable Sins, p18-19. In Australia, too, we would be highly offended if someone called us a sinner for these little everyday things.
You know, it feels a bit strange to be talking about driving the wrong way, and dogs off leash as ‘sins.’ I think I’ll have to take another look at my own “Respectable Sins,” and write about them in another blog.
Jesus taught that we are to get the log out of our own eye first.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)
It sounds odd, and of course, it’s impossible. Jesus means that we are to look at our own sins, and ask for forgiveness. Our own sins are big – like a log. We can’t, or don’t want to, see our own sin, but we want to help our neighbour get rid of the speck in their eye, or at least tell them all about it.
In our case, with the woman driving the wrong way out of the car park, we have certainly been guilty too.
We have made the same mistake on unfamiliar roads. I still feel embarrassed when I remember how we wrongly exited a shopping centre carpark and two cars trying to enter had to stop and wait for us. Even worse, the first time I went to my local gym, I exited out of the entry, and another vehicle had to back out onto the street. How embarrassing. And how kind of the driver not to honk or to make rude hand signals.
The other two dog incidents didn’t directly cause us any problems.
We spoke to the woman walking her two dogs, asking her for directions, as we were unsure of how to get back to carpark. She was very helpful and friendly. And her dogs didn’t bite us.
The third man’s dog also didn’t bother us. There was a big dog poop in the van park, but who knows where that came from. That may have been another dog owner who didn’t pick up, also breaking the rules.
It was right for us to overlook these sins. And be humble about it.
We don’t overlook these things because we are such great Christians, we do so because God has done the same for us! God hasn’t just overlooked our sin, Jesus has paid for it!
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus Romans 3;23-24.
Actually, we can’t overlook the sins of others by our own power. In reality, we might prefer to ‘give the finger,’ or gossip. The world might even applaud us for demanding our entitlements. We might even want the government or the civil authorities to police things better so that we can be safe on the roads, not have to risk dog attacks, or have to watch out for dog poo.
There are, of course, sins which can’t, and shouldn’t be ignored. Maybe I’ll write about that in another blog.
PRAYER Dear God, I am a sinner, and I continue to sin in my thoughts, words and actions. Please forgive me! Thank you that Jesus died for all my sins, and because of this, You forgive me. I often find it hard to forgive those who sin against me. I pray for the Holy Spirit to remind me that I am a forgiven sinner, and therefore I can forgive others. Amen.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
How do you feel when others are breaking the rules?
Is your reaction likely to be peace-breaking attack – verbal or physical assault, gossip, litigation, anger or hatred?
Or is your reaction more likely to be peace-faking denial – pretending it doesn’t exist, running away, or letting it build up inside you?