W
Wm777
Guest
The other day I was thinking about Matthew 7:11
I usually like to contemplate and pray over Matthew 7:11 when I am confronted with scrupulous arguments and situations. If you read it closely, the major premise assumes the recipient’s wickedness, so we’re not looking at someone in temptation - but one who is already in a sinful state. And, while the punchline aims at proving God’s goodness, it’s also saying, the sinner can still give good gifts.
So here’s my question.
It’s possible to think the exchange between the two humans could be one of forgiveness. That would mean something like Person X has sins A, B and C; and Person Y has sins C, D and E, and yet they dont care about any of those sins A through E, so they develop a friendship based upon a consensual agreement to forgive each other. This brings up an issue of what I’ll call “appropriate consensuality”. But notice - they have one sin in common, which I labeled “C”. I’ll title this one “inappropriate consensuality”.
Now - I can see everyone raising red flags… but remember the people have already sinned…
Where we have appropriate consensuality, each person has their own sins, and each forgives the other for it. That seems pretty normal. Everyone has sins. We may not like it, but it’s normal we have to forgive those sins. I even think God looks favorably upon us when we forgive each other for our sins. I conclude there must be some redeeming qualities toward this kind of relationship.
My question is more around what I call “inappropriate consensuality” (for lack of a better term). Since both people have sin “C” in common, it seems an interesting situation - because they could be colluding, or possibly enabling each other… or, perhaps, they both recognize it as a sin, and yet experience their inclinations toward the problem in different ways… what I guess I am trying to discern is if there could be any kind of redemption in this kind of situation? Like, for instance, when two alcoholics talk at an al-anon or drug dependency/recovery meetings… or maybe people in anger management make friends… or something like that… I dont know what I would conclude here… it seems like it could go either way…?
It’s one of my most favorite passages.
I usually like to contemplate and pray over Matthew 7:11 when I am confronted with scrupulous arguments and situations. If you read it closely, the major premise assumes the recipient’s wickedness, so we’re not looking at someone in temptation - but one who is already in a sinful state. And, while the punchline aims at proving God’s goodness, it’s also saying, the sinner can still give good gifts.
So here’s my question.
It’s possible to think the exchange between the two humans could be one of forgiveness. That would mean something like Person X has sins A, B and C; and Person Y has sins C, D and E, and yet they dont care about any of those sins A through E, so they develop a friendship based upon a consensual agreement to forgive each other. This brings up an issue of what I’ll call “appropriate consensuality”. But notice - they have one sin in common, which I labeled “C”. I’ll title this one “inappropriate consensuality”.
Now - I can see everyone raising red flags… but remember the people have already sinned…
Where we have appropriate consensuality, each person has their own sins, and each forgives the other for it. That seems pretty normal. Everyone has sins. We may not like it, but it’s normal we have to forgive those sins. I even think God looks favorably upon us when we forgive each other for our sins. I conclude there must be some redeeming qualities toward this kind of relationship.
My question is more around what I call “inappropriate consensuality” (for lack of a better term). Since both people have sin “C” in common, it seems an interesting situation - because they could be colluding, or possibly enabling each other… or, perhaps, they both recognize it as a sin, and yet experience their inclinations toward the problem in different ways… what I guess I am trying to discern is if there could be any kind of redemption in this kind of situation? Like, for instance, when two alcoholics talk at an al-anon or drug dependency/recovery meetings… or maybe people in anger management make friends… or something like that… I dont know what I would conclude here… it seems like it could go either way…?