I do my very best not to lie, cheat, steal. I've never killed anyone.
I keep the "thou shalt nots" of the Bible.
I always put the seat down.
I am a good person.
Right?
Let me tell you about the worst verse in the Bible. It is the verse that totally messed up my life.
When I was in high school, our youth group was talking about how fragile the future is. We studied James 4:13-16, which says, "Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil."
Heavy stuff, right?
In short, you can make all the plans you want, but the future is in God's hands, and you need to be seeking after his will and his purposes for your life.
Actually, this is kind of freeing for a high school kid about to go off to college to try and figure out who they are to become. You don't have to have the future planned out! It's all in God's hands!
But then I read verse 17. The worst verse in the Bible.
"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them."
Dang it.
I've been really good at keeping the "thou shalt nots," but I've stunk at keeping the implied "thou shalls."
It means that every time I've minded my own business after recognizing injustice, big or small, I've missed the mark God wants me to aim for.
It means that every time I've looked out for myself instead of my neighbor, I've failed to be Christ-like.
It means that every time I've avoided getting involved for the sake of comfort, I've made the cross a little more uncomfortable for the one who had to bear it.
And what makes it worse is that the four preceding verses talk about how short life is. Doing good isn't just something you should do, it's something VITAL to do because life is short.
"If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them."
But where is the line here? I mean, is Jesus expecting me to sell my home and all my possessions and live on the street so I can give my money to the poor? Am I supposed to make my family uncomfortable just so my neighbor can be comfortable?
Grey areas bother me. I want a definitive line of how good I have to be.
"Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."
Oh come on.
I think the problem is that it seems like too much, so we decide to just do nothing. I can never be perfect, I can never do all the possible good, so why even try.
Instead, here's how I've tried to live this out. I think what Jesus is asking of us is a little more. Do the good you can do. Start small if you have to. See how it changes your life, your outlook, your understanding of the message of the gospel. See how it changes the lives of those who are recipients of your good works. What I've found is that each time, God pushes me to do just a tiny bit more, and I've never regretted giving it a try.
James says another thing: "What good is it, my brothers and sister, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?...Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds."
When we come to recognize that following Christ is not just about the things we avoid doing, but also about the things we know we must do, it changes everything.
James 4:17 is the worst verse in the Bible because it has made me change everything about how I live. And I couldn't be happier.
