tonnerkiller
Newbie
I'm still baffled about this one Commandment asking that we love our neighbor as our self, which is something we absolutely cannot do. We will always fall short of this instruction.
I have money in my bank account that I don't actually need, that could do a lot for others. I have clothes hanging in my closet that I'm not currently wearing that could go to others. I have spare rooms in my house that nobody sleeps in, that I could give to a homeless person. I've thrown food away that could have fed others.
I love myself very much. I take good care of myself. I am simply not willing to do as much for others as I am for myself. And as much as nobody likes to say it, I think the way I live my life is fairly common.
So how do we then justify this Commandment that seeks to create equality among Man?
Thank you for this thread. I think it shows very well the two extremes "cheap grace" on the one side and "justification by works" on the other side.
There is nothing wrong with the commandment. But we try to water it down so we can handle it. I think everybody is doing this every now and then, not only those who wrote according posts here.
It's what people tend to do: Try to get along with the commandment.
The other thing people do is legalism: They find a rule, any rule, and want it obeyed no matter what. If you cannot follow it, you are out. This works best when there is no chance to see whether those people themselves follow these rules
I don't intend to offend anyone, actually I think we all do this as well, every now and then.
Now what to do? I think it was Paul who described the law as a schoolmaster. We are to comprehend, like in school, how things are.
And it appears to me that you have comprehended the gravity of sin. You can give everything you have, you can try again and again, you will never fully get to the point where your deeds justify you. If you take the short road for cheap grace and say it is all not so bad, you miss that. If you insist that there must be a way to fulfill everything and justify yourself without the help of God, you miss that.
Sin is grave, really grave! And it causes real pain, real suffering. We NEED a way out.
The way out is Christ. But not in a way that everything will be easy now. Not in a way that you are now fulfilling the commandments like housework chores.
It is still good to follow the commandments, because as much as you do, pain will decrease, suffering will decrease. But you don't need to do it for justification. You ARE justified. You are a child of God, a brother of Christ. You don't need to prove anything to them, they are family! All pressure gone.
And maybe, after a while, you will find, that you get stronger. Not like being perfect for self-justification at one point: We are still all lacking, we still have only one way: Christ. But in a way that it gets easier to help more people, not out of a feeling of duty, not as a chore, but out of an inner motivation caused by God's love towards you.
So relax. Not because the problem wasn't so bad, but because YOU are not the one responsible for solving the problem. You can help though, as long as you want and as far as you can. But the responsibility lies somewhere else and the guy in charge does indeed have superpowers
God bless
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