Light of the World, a City on A Hill
…thinking out loud about living missionally in the city of Sydney so that the city will come to know Jesus…Archive for sin
…who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Rom 1:18 [ESV]
This verse resonates with me. Especially today.
The day did not start particularly badly, but went downhill quickly.
On my usual 1 hour drive to work, I was nudged up the backside by the car behind me while stopped at a set of lights.
Top cut a long story short, despite being at fault (both in truth and under law) the other driver refused take responsibility and wanted us to just part company. Suppressing the truth in unrighteousness indeed.
So anyway, another verse came to mind:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. Matt 5:38-42 [ESV]
I deliberated whether to let it go (the damage seems minor) or to hold this person accountable for their actions.
In the end I have put a claim through insurance who will in turn claim on their insurance.
It seems like the right thing to do. Particularly as their car was a $130K+ Porsche.
How do you tell a women her child needs a good smack?
You may recall a post I did a while ago on “Smacking”.
Well, Miranda Devine (of SMH fame) has come out today with this piece on disciplining children.
She even manages to get a link in to the recent Corey Delaney story (you know the one…kid throws a party while the folks are away and 500 idiots turn up). Craig was concerned here that Corey was being unfairly hammered. It seems Devine would agree and she lays the blame mostly at Corey’s parents describing them as “laissez-faire baby-boomer parents who haven’t learned to say “No”".
Is this harsh? Some think so. Some contend that their parents didn’t really discipline them and they turned out alright.
Perhaps…it would be interesting to see a study on how kids were (or weren’t disciplined) vs how they turned out going into adolescence and adulthood.
It’s worse than you think
Have you ever thought about how sinful you actually are?
Not a nice topic the week before Christmas, but one that has hit me of late.
Many of us do reflect on our sin from time to time and so we do recognise that we are sinful, but I think what we don’t realise is that it is much, much worse than we imagine.
It seems God spares us from seeing the full extent of our depravity out of kindness to us. If we really knew how bad it is then we would not have the fortitude to walk out our front door.
The upside (phew, there is an upside) is that seeing your wickedness, lust, greed and depravity greatly expands your understanding of the massiveness of God’s grace.
It also prevents you from thinking of yourself too highly and thus recognise that everyone in the world, regardless of race, class, colour and creed is in the same boat as you…in need of an extraordinary saviour.
Jeff
