How to Get Rid of Guilt... The Easy Way

I have been trying to wrap my mind around a conundrum. Some high-profile Christians are espousing ideas that are utterly unchristian. (God hates homosexuals. Muslims are all evil. Poor people are lazy moochers.) It seems odd that Christians, supposedly those who know the real meaning of love, seem to have become the religion of hate. Why? Why is Mainstream Christianity so far from the teachings of Jesus?

Then it dawned on me. There's a psychological idea called cognitive dissonance. In a nutshell, you can't keep two opposing ideas in your head. The two ideas I’m thinking of are these:

1. God calls on me to be loving and generous to those I hate, to forgive, even to sacrifice. (John 15:13, Luke 3:11, Colossians 3:13, etc.)

2. I like my money, my prestige, and my comfortable life. I don't want to part with it, even a little.

So somebody came up with an idea. Let's call it Us vs. Them.

Us: Those who are blessed by God, hard workers, “right“ believers.

Them: Poor people, unemployed, illegal aliens, those who have made mistakes. Oh, yeah, and those who commit a narrow range of sins: pretty much LGBT and political liberals.

If you try really hard and squint a little, you can make the Bible uphold this position, especially if you use the Old Testament.( Be sure to take passages out of context. For instance, substitute “America” for “Israel,” and “poor people” for “countries surrounding Israel.” Get the idea?)

Rampant fear helps too. If we don't do something right now, socialism will take over our country, so we must vigorously squash anything that looks remotely like socialism; Social Security, for instance, or universal healthcare. (Actually, if we keep things as they are, things will pretty much stay as they are. The rich will be rich and the poor will be poor.)

At the heart of this attitude is self-justification. It's not hard to find arguments justifying greed. But it is very hard to turn to the Bible for the answers we want to hear. So we have to look further. Ayn Rand's idea of rational selfishness comes from her book “Atlas Shrugged.” (Psst… Christians… If you follow the teachings of Ayn Rand, you’re not really a Christian. Call yourself a Randian so you won't confuse yourself or other people.)

Here's the part where Christians can justify superiority:

Find people who are “undeserving” to complain about. “Government handouts” are wrong, because anyone who needs a financial boost is, by nature, undeserving. (Is that in the Bible? Aren't we all undeserving?)

Pick a sin that isn't your own and bring it to the forefront for discussion. Homosexuality is wrong, and therefore homosexuals bring their problems on themselves (sounds like karma) and the rest of us, too, in the form of earthquakes and floods.

Make sure you're on the right side of the US vs. Them divide. If you're not rich, you will be someday, so you're on the good side. (Isn't that a relief?)

Poor people, the unemployed, etc. are somehow different from Us. If a fellow Christian is laid off from a job or contracts aids or cancer… well, I don’t know how this is justified. (Anybody?) I hear they don't deserve better because they aren't really Christians. Maybe they're hiding some sin. Maybe they don't pray enough. Maybe they don't “believe right.” (Ahem. This whole issue is covered in the book of Job)

So… It’s okay for Christians to hate them. They're only moochers.

That, friends, it the hard way to get rid of guilt. It takes a lot of work to continually fight off cognitive dissonance. You might end up with ulcers.

But...

I titled the article “How to Get Rid of Guilt The Easy Way,” because there is another way. And it's actually EASIER than what I talk about above.

...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-14

There. It's done. Jesus did it for us. Notice that this is a single sentence: All fall short, and all are justified through Jesus.

Want more?

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Matthew 19: 21, 22

(Wow! What that doing in the Bible?)

Peace, Love, no guilt.