The 'be good and you will go to heaven' assumption about Christianity's message can have two consequences; non- believers can see the label Christian as a signal that the bearers think themselves better than and look down on other people. They can see Christians as self righteous, judgmental and unforgiving. And Christians, if they are not careful, can unwittingly become all of those things.
The parable of the prodigal son Luke 15: 11-32 is great if you are the prodigal who has wasted all the good things his father gave him but is welcomed back with open arms and a big party; but if you are the elder brother in the story who has stayed at home, done everything his father wanted, laboured in the fields and done all the hard work it's a harder message to take.
Time and again Jesus' parables contrast the 'good' person who keeps all the rules but is lacking in compassion with the sinner who accepts his fallen nature and is compassionate to others. It's the outsider, the Samaritan who comes to the aid of the man attacked on the road. The religious people pass by on the other side - more interested in maintaining their observances and their state of ritual holiness. It's the prayer of the sinner 'Lord have mercy on me a sinner that Jesus holds up as the example rather than the Pharisees prayer,"Thank God that I am not like other men." Luke 18:11
Jesus saves the woman condemned for adultery saying 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.' Our sins are forgiven 'as we forgive other peoples'. 'We are counselled to, Judge not that you be not judged.'
The trouble is that if you keep all the rules and live a good life it can be very difficult not to resent people who break the rules and seem to get away with it. There is a difficult line between upholding what is right and becoming judgmental and condemnatory of others. The better behaved we are the harder it can become to show compassion for others and forgive them their faults. "Whoever is forgiven little loves little" - Luke 7:47
Worse still we can become preoccupied with other people's minor misdemeanors and overlook huge errors on our own part failing to deal with the huge plank (beam) in our own eye before dealing with the speck in someone elses. Matthew 7.3
Heaven isn't a reward to be earned by being 'holier than thou' it's a free gift to be received with gratitude and shared freely with others. It can be easier to understand and accept this message if you have got things badly wrong than if you have lived a largely blameless life. That's not an encouragement to mess up just a sad fact. It is right that as individuals and institutions Christians should uphold the highest standards of conduct and be a bulwark against moral erosion but the church can seem to be less compassionate than the world around it lagging behind others in understanding and tolerance. The Christian message isn't about condemnation its about love, compassion and forgiveness.
The way you get to heaven is to accept that God loves and cares for you despite your faults and to try and love and forgive other people as he loves and forgives you.
Time and again Jesus' parables contrast the 'good' person who keeps all the rules but is lacking in compassion with the sinner who accepts his fallen nature and is compassionate to others. It's the outsider, the Samaritan who comes to the aid of the man attacked on the road. The religious people pass by on the other side - more interested in maintaining their observances and their state of ritual holiness. It's the prayer of the sinner 'Lord have mercy on me a sinner that Jesus holds up as the example rather than the Pharisees prayer,"Thank God that I am not like other men." Luke 18:11
Jesus saves the woman condemned for adultery saying 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.' Our sins are forgiven 'as we forgive other peoples'. 'We are counselled to, Judge not that you be not judged.'
The trouble is that if you keep all the rules and live a good life it can be very difficult not to resent people who break the rules and seem to get away with it. There is a difficult line between upholding what is right and becoming judgmental and condemnatory of others. The better behaved we are the harder it can become to show compassion for others and forgive them their faults. "Whoever is forgiven little loves little" - Luke 7:47
Worse still we can become preoccupied with other people's minor misdemeanors and overlook huge errors on our own part failing to deal with the huge plank (beam) in our own eye before dealing with the speck in someone elses. Matthew 7.3
Heaven isn't a reward to be earned by being 'holier than thou' it's a free gift to be received with gratitude and shared freely with others. It can be easier to understand and accept this message if you have got things badly wrong than if you have lived a largely blameless life. That's not an encouragement to mess up just a sad fact. It is right that as individuals and institutions Christians should uphold the highest standards of conduct and be a bulwark against moral erosion but the church can seem to be less compassionate than the world around it lagging behind others in understanding and tolerance. The Christian message isn't about condemnation its about love, compassion and forgiveness.
The way you get to heaven is to accept that God loves and cares for you despite your faults and to try and love and forgive other people as he loves and forgives you.
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