Replace simplistic rhetoric with compassion

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The passing of time and it’s day after day routine can wear away our awareness of where we are personally in our relationship with God.  Our defenses get let down, and “little sins” can somehow become legit in our thinking.

And soon we can become dismissive of evil around us. And our compassion for others may wane. We may dismiss others outright. We have no love left. Simplistic rhetoric takes the day.

Simplistic rhetoric

“…we should resist the temptation to dismiss criminals as the scum of the earth, contemptible people whom we can’t wait to see locked away or worse. “There but for the grace of God go I” may be a cliché, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Our hearts should be moved with compassion not only toward petty offenders who are just down on their luck, but even toward the most hardened criminals, whose darkened souls deserve our pity.

But compassion doesn’t mean surrendering our moral judgment. It doesn’t mean minimizing the seriousness of crimes either as a moral issue or as a scourge on society.”

– Source: Truthful, impartial, merciful… Christians should avoid simplistic rhetoric about crime | Brad Littlejohn | wng.org | Post Date: 1.5.2024

Honest self examination
We who try to deal with our sinfulness (of whatever kind) might tend to conflagrate (“to set on fire”) any honest personal probing.  We may try to deflect honest evaluation by multiplying issues that don’t really address our sin.  We may want to obscure the reality that our way is sin.  ¹

Is my way – sinful?
Scripture says to “repent” of our sin, not rationalize it away. But a natural tendency is – we want to minimize the vile nature of our sin. Often “sin” is negated by redefining it.

And yet arguing with God is pointless. If God says it is sin, well then, who are we to contradict Him? But we often might do just that.

FOR MORE:

The sins around us and the sins we do

Playing with sin

Contradicting Jesus

Are you “contrary” – not conforming to the Gospel?

Vile to Jesus

Legitimate irritability

Wrapped in unselfish love

Responding to insults and losses

Being Jesus “with skin on” for children

Being friendly, cordial and gracious

God is asking you to repent

Jeremiah 7 – Warning to Repent

Where do you find healing?

Examine yourselves

Turn from – Turn to

About staying true & faithful to Jesus

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1. An example of “deflecting”, like Daniel Rarela does in her review of the book by Preston: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R33FEG978TO39E/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0310519659#R33FEG978TO39E as Compassionate, but multiple holes in arguments raise multiple unanswered questions (Part I)  Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2019.