When Moral Beauty Begins to Bore Us

Knowing the difference between a symptom and a sickness is critical in the Christian life.  If I were a doctor and you came to me sneezing, it would be irresponsible for me to address only the sneezing.  A responsible doctor would look past the sneeze to the flu.  He would care less about the symptom and more about the sickness.

Unfortunately, in our church culture we are typically more concerned with people's symptoms rather than their sickness.  The reason is not difficult to identify.  We don't like people sneezing on us!  So we resort to doing that which makes our lives more sanitary, in the quickest way possible.  We say, "Stop sneezing.  And go over there (away from me) until the medicine takes effect."

But Christ touched lepers (Matt 8:3).  It's about as simple and profound as that.

When we ourselves, or someone we know becomes angry, immoral, jealous, envious or addicted (cf. Gal 5:19) we must interpret these behaviors rightly and responsibly.  These are merely symptoms, like sores on a leper, of a horrible disease - spiritual leprosy.  The sores aren't the problem, although they really affect us and others in meaningful ways.  Leprosy is the issue, and it demands Christian touch.

Simply put, it's worth getting leprosy to get the leper to heaven.  In other words, our life is worth losing if it means another person gains it.  Isn't this what the Apostle taught? "So death is at work in us, but life in you" (2 Cor 4).

We must not be religious hypocrites that give superficial advise, addressing only the symptoms.  Teaching that sinners must not behave sinfully around an "obviously sinless" people. This is no gospel at all.  For the gospel-centered Christian, sin is an opportunity to love - to confront the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.

Hear Cornelius Plantinga Jr. in his work, Not the Way It's Supposed to Be:

Self-deception about our sin is a narcotic, a tranquilizing and disorienting suppression of our spiritual nervous system.  What's devastating about it is that when we lack an ear for wrong notes in our lives, we cannot play right ones or even recognize them in the performances of others.  Eventually we make ourselves religiously so unmusical that we miss both the exposition and the recapitulation of the main themes God plays in human life.  The music of creation and the still greater music of grace whistle right through our skulls, causing no catch of breath and leaving no residue.  Moral beauty begins to bore us.  The idea that the human race needs a Savior sounds quaint. 

It doesn't do anyone any good to send the lepers out of the very place that should provide healing.  If we were consistent with sending them out, then our churches would be empty.  We'd have to go too.