Sin & Pleasure

One of my heroes was the late and very great Bill Mallard. He enjoyed this ironic, sarcastic, and tragically absurd line, which though unspoken lies beneath so much of what’s wrong with our Christian Living and Witness —

When I do it, it’s a pleasure,

but when you do it, it’s a sin.

— So. Many. Directions. To. Go.

But I’m turning to Christ Jesus, who said, Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment.

That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.

It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own.

Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt?

It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part.

Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. — Matthew 7:1-5