Movie Quote I'm reflecting on:
"We see a deadly sin on every street corner.....and we tolerate it...."
If you picked up right away where this quote came from, don't tune out just yet or think I've gone nuts. I know this isn't exactly from a movie you would expect a devotional to derive from, but I think it is worthy of thinking about.
The quote is from the movie Seven. Super brief cliff-notes version of the movie if you haven't seen it is that two detectives are investigating a string of murders. They find that a string of murders are all linked to one of the seven deadly sins. Eventually.......(SEMI SPOILER IF YOU CARE, ALTHOUGH NOT REALLY GIVING ANYTHING IMPORTANT AWAY ABOUT THE END)....the murderer turns himself in. Long story short, in discussion with the detectives, he talks about how the world has become numb to sins that happen all around us, and he was opening everyone's eyes....
So what's my point. Obviously I'm not advocating going out and killing someone we see committing a sin, so what's the point of focusing on this movie quote.
"We see a deadly sin on every street corner...and we tolerate it...". This is about as true as it gets for a majority of the country. You'll have a hard time being out in public for any significant period of time and not seeing some pretty significant sins. So as Christians, what are we supposed to do?
I've come to realize in the last year or so that the area I live in is particularly, well, "sinful". Let me preface by that by saying that I know I am no perfect angel, nor is there anyone out there who is perfect. But it's hard not to notice just the general negativity, and lack of spirituality around where I am at. As I start noticing this, I begin to myself, what are we supposed to do about it? Are we (we being the Christian community) supposed to do anything at all? Is there something personally I should be doing? Do we preach to people we see? Do we just try to lead by example?
Reflection:
I don't have any real answers to the questions I posed, but I believe Romans gives us some great guidance when thinking about this:
Romans 12:2 - Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think, Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Paul was giving Christians a warning in this letter that is still valid for us to follow today. Some people may be compelled to try and preach to those who seem lost. Some may offer advice. Some may ignore them. But the one thing we are warned about is not to conform.
"Conforming" is easier to do than we may think, and we probably do it sometimes without even realizing it. I know I've been at parties I shouldn't have been at, and conversations I shouldn't have been a part of in the past. And even though I didn't contribute to what made those things "wrong", I was "conforming" by being tolerant, which is just as wrong.
A specific example I can think of was at an interview I had where I received questions about the Christian nature of my law school. The questions were certainly asked in a way that looked down upon Christianity (at least in respect to school), and I believe the answer they were looking for was for me to join in with their beliefs in some way. Looking back I think I had three choices, 1) to conform, 2) to tell them what I thought about t heir question, and in some way "preach" to them, or 3) avoid their negativity without conforming or preaching. I basically made an attempt at #3 by changing the subject in a way, but I made a firm stance not to conform. (which for me was the first time I ca remember thinking whether to make a firm stand not to conform).
I don't know whether the way I handled it was right or wrong, but I bring that example up 1) as an example of how conforming can be tempting, and 2) because while I can't say if how I responded was correct, I do know that option #1 WOULD have been wrong, and something we all must avoid doing.
Final Thought:
I keep that reflection short because I think it is better written merely as food for thought than as any definitive statement. Everyone has different situations that will occur in their day-to-day where they will have to avoid "conforming" to the behaviors and customs of this world, in the way that Paul warned. As society becomes more and more secular, situations will continue to come about where you are put in a situation where you will have to make a choice about whether to conform, make a stand, or something else.
Think about situations in your life where you maybe let yourself conform, and reflect on how you can change that. Think about situations that may arise, and reflect on what you should do. Do you get stuck in the middle of office conversations where you find yourself "conforming" just to not make a scene? Do you find yourself being talked into going to a bar, restaurant, or party that you don't want to be at, but conform just so you're not labeled as a buzzkill or party pooper? We can't be prepared for everything, but thinking through how we can avoid conforming will help us when the situation comes around. And the reward is certainly worth it. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. I know I certainly can't wait to learn that....
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