Sin and George Orwell

It can never be a good thing when I read a book that satirises communist Russia and find a startlingly large number of comparisons with the church within it. I'll leave you to go and find it and read it and realise what I mean in the most part, but the one thing that struck me the most was when the animals change

all animals are equal

to

all animals are equal but some are more equal than others

Its funny when its about animals on a farm, and mildly amusing when its sending up the communist regime, but suddenly, it stops being funny when you realise that's how we treat sin. All sins are equal, but we make some of them more equal than others. This became uncomfortably real to me earlier this year when I was being teased about having had FAR too much to drink on New Years Eve and tried to excuse it by saying that it only happened a couple of times a year. When someone (who shall remain nameless) (mostly because I can't think of an amusing blog pseudonym for him) asked me whether "it would be ok for him to leave his wife at home and go out and sleep around 'a couple of times a year'" I realised how true that phrase is...all sins are equal, we just make some of them less bad for ourselves because that makes us feel more comfortable.

Its so easy to judge someone for what we perceive to be their sin without realising that in that moment we to are putting ourselves wrong with God - we're not called to judge people, we're called to love them. Jesus never said "by the way you throw the bible at them, they shall know me" and I totally believe that that is not what God wants. I don't think I'm ever going to be called for account for chosing to love someone rather than judge them, whatever they're doing with their lives. And anyway, there's a lot to be said for taking the plank out of your own eye first.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

Love, etc.
xx