Here’s a thought provoking quote from the Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards.
And so as to hatred and zeal; when these are from right principles, they are against sin in general, in some proportion to the degree of sinfulness: Psal. 119:104, “I hate every false way.” … But a false hatred and zeal against sin is against some particular sin only. Thus some seem to be very zealous against profaneness, and pride in apparel, who themselves are notorious for covetousness, closeness, and it may be backbiting, envy towards superiors, turbulency of spirit towards rulers, and rooted ill will to them that have injured them. False zeal is against the sins of others, while men have no zeal against their own sins. But he that has true zeal, exercises it chiefly against his own sins; though he shows also a proper zeal against prevailing and dangerous iniquity in others.
I am burdened by the tone and direction of those in Christian circles who stand in moral outrage over whatever particular ill has caught their attention. I read my fair share of blog headlines or facebook updates expressing a “How dare they” indignation over some evil (often in the context of politics or entertainment). But I never see any facebook updates that say “How dare I!” To be honest, today I am personally morally outraged and demanding of repentance. But it’s of myself. The object of my outrage today is the old man in me that I want out of my life for good. I am the chiefest of sinners, and God has called ME to repent to Him and my children in particular in very specific ways this very day.
My point is not that we should dwell in shame or self-flaggelation or put on some kind of false piety. The beauty of godly sorrow over our OWN sin is that it points us to Christ and leads us to the foot of the cross. There, we don’t find condemnation, but forgiveness. And only then can we turn to others and offer them a correct perspective of their own sin. Only then can we humbly serve as salt and light with others as Christ has commanded. I’m all for moral outrage. Let’s just get the target right.
