Sin, grace, and intolerance (June, 2006)

Jay calls us from our culture's notions of sin and tolerance back to God's grace and forgiveness.

What I'm pondering:

• "Greed and power can seduce even the best intentioned and most confident. Ryan and his cronies illustrate the corruption of our culture and the unravelling of our commitments to virtues like honesty, frugality, and compassion."


• "The problem is not a lack of a sense of sin, but the loss of the possibility of grace. ... In spite of our vaunted tolerance we seem to relish the sins and failures of others. ... We expect perfection. We insist on consistency. We mock hypocrisy. ... In general we are jaded, graceless, and cynical. We hope for grace and forgiveness, but we can barely believe in it and certainly have a hard time offering it to the other."


• "We can't imagine a God that can really heal our diseases and pardon our iniquities. Whatever our culture tells us, the gospel tells us there is no one beyond the love and grace of God--not even that dying SS officer."

I'm a mix of emotions when I put myself in Simon Wiesenthal's position. What would I say to the dying SS officer? Can I forgive what he's done? What would that mean?

But I have the gospel, and I can share it with him. I can tell him the good news: that even he can find forgiveness at the foot of the cross. Not glossing over the wrong he's done, but Christ paying its severe penalty.

May you and I have the courage to rise above our grievances and pain and offer God's forgiveness to the unlovable--even a dying SS officer or former Governor Ryan. As God used a reluctant Jonah to call the Ninevites to repentance, so he can use us.

*******

Jay writes:

[Ryan's crimes are] just the latest in a series of criminal acts committed by governmental and business leaders. Greed and power can seduce even the best intentioned and most confident. Ryan and his cronies illustrate the corruption of our culture and the unravelling of our commitments to virtues like honesty, frugality, and compassion.

I want to take Jay's sobering warning to heart. Corruption is so rampant in Illinois politics that people get desensitized and shrug it off. I appreciate Jay's refusal to do that.

I'd caution against painting with too broad a brush, though. Corporate scandals like Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and HealthSouth deserve the attention they got, but may not have left an accurate impression. As the editors of the Wall Street Journal put it, these scandals (particularly Enron) have led to "a boatload of hectoring about the corruption of the business class." But:

it turns out that class was pretty small. The private sector, like the public sector, will have its share of scandals and malfeasance. But looking back, the extraordinary thing about Enron is how extraordinary it was. ... This was not financial innovation at its finest. But, it seems, it was also not widely imitated.

Government and business leaders, like all of us, are sinners in need of a savior. But the vast majority are also responsible, law-abiding citizens, and our society benefits from their contributions.

I know Jay wouldn't advocate stereotyping any group or making them a scapegoat. I'd urge his readers not to either: as Jay cautions, to avoid being jaded and cynical.

Inspiration

On North Park's campus:

"Test everything: hold fast to what is good."

1 Thessalonians 5:21