Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why then do you judge your brother or sister?
Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;
for it is written:
As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.
So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.
Today’s reading reminds me of an issue that has been coming up a lot in my life lately, separating the sinner from the sin. How do I effectively teach this concept to my daughters? How do we welcome people into our homes, but not their behavior, in order to not condone it or send mixed messages to our children? What of the friends who come to stay who live together out of wedlock? What of the family member who chooses to live a gay lifestyle? What of the loved one who greatly wrongs another family member? Where is the line between using our judgment to protect our family and not judging our fellow sinner?
Today’s reading reminds me of an issue that has been coming up a lot in my life lately, separating the sinner from the sin. How do I effectively teach this concept to my daughters? How do we welcome people into our homes, but not their behavior, in order to not condone it or send mixed messages to our children? What of the friends who come to stay who live together out of wedlock? What of the family member who chooses to live a gay lifestyle? What of the loved one who greatly wrongs another family member? Where is the line between using our judgment to protect our family and not judging our fellow sinner?
Thoughts?
