It's not who you are

Does the American Church struggle with a guilt complex?

We are not persecuted, and on top of that, we live in a rich and free nation. Yes, we have concerns, but daily survival and safety aren't generally among them. If that thought doesn't make us somber, it should. But somberness is different than guilt, and I think too often guilt is the prevailing emotion we have when we consider our relative position in the world. And the problem with guilt is it usually motivates you to do the wrong thing, and even if it doesn't, it motivates you to do the right thing for the wrong reason.

Reflecting on this has reinforced a view I've been refining for some years now, starting with what you might call an axiom: it's not who you are, it's who you're becoming that matters. We know redemption is a process. That should tell us that no matter what our stage, station, or status, there's always a next step, which further tells us that success, from a more eternal perspective, probably has a lot more to do with the distance between our starting point and our ending point than it does with anything else.

I think back to Paul's words in 1st Cor. 7: "Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called." It has nothing to do with our starting point--our initial endowment. Otherwise, Paul would have encouraged us to improve our environment, our status. Instead, he tells us to stay where we are, whether enslaved or free. He's pointing out this same principle.

Yes, I am deeply horrified by stories of persecution and want around the world, just as I am by all reports of senseless violence, pain and suffering. And I do feel obligated to improve those situations whenever and however I'm able. But I'm not sure guilt is the most appropriate response, given that we who were called while free are Christ's slave.