I Am Not Surprised

This past week I have…

…had a daughter struggle with girls in middle school who are all nice when they are at our house and all mean and moody when they are at school.

…had a non-Christian friend witness a “Christian” outside an abortion clinic call the women going in sluts and whores who were going to hell because they couldn’t keep their legs crossed.

…read that you are a hypocrite if you are against gay marriage but not against people who have been divorced getting re-married.

…heard people talk about how racism is worse now than it has ever been.

…heard how “traditional values” are being undermined by those in political power and are ruining the country.

I am not surprised.

If I am surprised at anything it is that people are surprised that people say and do dumb, stupid, hurtful things.

Sin is not the exception, it is the rule (Psalms 14:1-3, Romans 3:23). People are not basically good who screw up and fall down occasionally. That may be what the culture assumes, schools teach, and what we want to be true—but it doesn’t match reality does it? Even saying that “no body is perfect” falls way short of our own experience with people doesn’t it?

The world has been “going to hell in a hand basket” since Adam and Eve ate that pesky fruit.

So why do so many Christians seem so surprised, offended, and flabbergasted when they look at the world and not only see a mess but seeing people love the mess, support the mess, and add to the mess? Why are we surprised that the world is worldly? Why are we surprised that sinful people not only sin, but enjoy it? I am tired of hearing how bad it is and how bad it is getting…as if this moral decline just started in recent history!

Take this quote from a Christian group for example:

As we cannot but with grief of soul lament those multitudes of errors, blasphemies, and all kinds of profaneness, which have in this last age, like a mighty deluge, overflown this nation; so, among several other sins which have helped to open the flood-gates of all these impieties, we cannot but esteem the disuse of family instruction one of the greatest.

Is this from some conservative Christian blog site? It could be. How often do we hear about our nation being ruined by a never-ending onslaught of errors, blasphemies, and profaneness…all of which are linked back to the failure of families to properly instruct their children? I have seen similar language and sentiments more than a few times over this last week. Sentiments like this are as common as Law & Order: SVU reruns on the USA network.

But it is not. It is the opening sentence of the introduction “to the reader” from The Westminster Confession of Faith, 1647. That’s 348 years ago. As another saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

We (and by “we” I mean we Christians) need to stop being so surprised that the world is worldly. Getting mad about it, getting in people’s faces over it, or ranting about it is not going to help anything. Is that how Jesus interacted with the “sinners” He came across? Jesus never promoted, condoned, excused, or sugar coated sin, but He was never surprised by it; He was never unwilling to bring grace and mercy to those who were neck deep in the muck and mire of sin (Luke 5:27-32, 7:36-50, 19:1-10, John 8:2-11). We should have the same attitude.

Not only that but we (and by “we” I mean everybody—Christians and non-Christians) need to stop being so surprised when Christians sin. Disappointed? Sure. Sad? Absolutely. But we should never be surprised. So when I hear, for instance, of this guy who was “protesting” at the abortion clinic in such a rude and condescending manner, I am not surprised. I think people like that would do more good by saying they were atheists and helped us in reverse! But I am not surprised.

The message the Church is supposed to be proclaiming, living, and witnessing to is what Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:15-16 (NIV),

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

We are all sinners, and the more we come to terms with that reality the more we will begin to believe that we are the worst of sinners. When you have that attitude you will not be surprised when you come across it in yourself or in anyone else. You will be humbled by the love and grace that God gives you, forgiving you, welcoming you, providing for you in spite of your sin, failure, and unfaithfulness. When you see sin in others you will not be surprised but moved with compassion and mercy to help them, be patient with them, pray for them, and share the same grace and comfort with them that God has given you (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

So let us give up being surprised by the fact that people sin. If we should be surprised by anything, we should be surprised by God’s grace to sinners like us.