There is no doubt as Christians that ‘functionally’ we have unacceptable and acceptable sins. I say ‘functionally’ because don’t think it theologically that way. Theologically we know that any sin is a steer away from what God intended for us but in terms of how we live our lives it doesn’t really play out like that.

Of course, there are cultural norms at play here, but in the white middle class Christian culture that I know here is a short non-exhaustive list of the unacceptable sins

• Sexual sin
• Theft
• Bad language (in older/conservative generations)
• Alcohol or drug abuse

I’m not in critique of these by the way. It’s clear from the Scriptures that these are departures from God’s ideal for our lives. However, we also have a list of things that are sins in the scripture that we often shrug our shoulders or turn a blind eye to. Here is a short list of my cultures acceptable sins.

• Gossip
• Jealousy
• Selfishness
• Judgement
• Worry

So, why am I writing a post like this? Mainly because my reading of the Sermon on the Mount today challenged me. In it Jesus doesn’t take as much, if any, time to tackle my cultures unacceptable sins but He does take time to cover the other list.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:25-27

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Matthew 6:32

Ok, challenged! Then He continues

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.“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 7:1-5

I guess the question is whether we are treating these things as seriously as Jesus does?

I think the answer is no. But why? And what shall we do about it?

I worry that just like the Pharisees we have made decisions about these acceptable and unacceptable sins and we are persecuting those who cannot keep them whilst we are ignoring some of the things that we are not holding up the standard to. It has nothing to do with our standing before God but with each other. Who knows in another culture would be the ones on the outside?

I’m not saying we lower the bar on our unacceptable list. In fact I am suggesting the opposite – we need to raise the bar on our unacceptable list…..

….without judging anyone in the process!!!!!