FREEDOM AND PERFORMANCE-BASED WORTHINESS

Christianity is often referred to as “dirty-rotten-sinner religion,” because it requires us to see ourselves as sinners always in need of confession, repentance and forgiveness. But what if this religion accurately characterizes who we truly are? If we are unworthy sinners, perhaps it is necessary for us to understand this in order to make the appropriate readjustments, like the man who washes his clothing after he realizes that they are filthy.

Jesus had been invited to attend an elegant luncheon by a Pharisee. Hearing that He was there, a known sinner-woman courageously trespassed, fell down at Jesus’ feet, washed them with tears of gratefulness, dried them with her hair, and rubbed His feet with costly oil.

The fact that Jesus had allowed this disgraced and morally contaminated woman to touch Him convinced Jesus’ host that He couldn’t be a prophet. Aware of this, Jesus asked him, Which debtor would be more appreciative - the one forgiven a great debt or one forgiven a minor debt? Simon answered, The one forgiven the greater debt. Jesus then applied the lesson:

• "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—[as a result] she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (Luke 7:44-48)

She overflowed with the love of gratefulness. The more we realize how unworthy we are of the love and forgiveness of our Lord, the more grateful we shall be and the more ready we will be to live according to His love. In contrast, the Pharisees believed that they were morally entitled and looked down on everyone else. As a result, they failed to see their need to be forgiven and reconciled to the God they claimed to serve.

Human society has anointed self-deception as a virtue. We are praised for believing in ourselves. Building a high self-esteem has become the mark of character which encourages us to feed on positive affirmations, whether true or not.

However, this is not a diet that will improve relationships. Instead, boasting and self-glorification divides people. It even separates us from God, who requires us to take a true inventory of our moral status.

If we offend a friend, the only way to be reconciled is to humbly confess our offense. Gifts and good deeds might help, but they fail to penetrate to the depths of the wound. We also offend God when we violate the moral principles He has wired within us. Consequently, we also violate and damage our own conscience, causing internal conflict, which no acts of virtue can rectify. They can only cover up the problem.

The sinner-woman was enabled to love God by recognizing how much she had been forgiven by Him. It also gave her the boldness to enter a home where she knew she wasn’t welcome.

When we know that we are loved by God, the opinions of society whither in comparison. She no longer needed to prove to the world that she was a “somebody.” To know that she was beloved and forgiven by God was enough.

How liberating it is to know that if God is for you. It doesn’t matter who is against you. The woman probably knew that she looked foolish in the eyes of the religious leadership but not in the eyes of Jesus, and this made all the difference.

Jesus had been overthrowing the worldview of the Pharisees, which assured them that they were the worthy ones, not this woman. They had worked hard to attain their righteous standing in God’s sight, and they weren’t ready to sacrifice their coveted standing before the dirty rotten sinner whose sins Jesus had just forgiven. Instead, they would have to connive to regain their standing, and the Cross seemed to be just the right place to accomplish this.

We all need to be a “somebody” and to feel that we are loved. However, if this depends upon our own virtue and performance, our heart will be like the mirror hanging on the wall, which tells us that there is always someone prettier or more popular. Perhaps it might even tell us that we aren’t pretty or morally entitled at all.

However, the woman had learned that her value didn’t depend upon her at all, but upon the One who loved and had forgiven her. She had learned a valuable lesson about freedom, a lesson that Jesus continues to teach us:

• So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)

When we are free, through the love of Christ, from the concerns of what others think of us, we are truly free to face our failures and to be at peace with them.