Consistently Inconsistent

The most consistent thing about me is this: I am inconsistent. Terribly inconsistent.

I hate my inconsistencies, because I'm tired of having to constantly justify myself before others. Living this way eventually becomes enslaving.

But then I realize that we're all this way. And suddenly I love my inconsistencies, because they remind me that I don't have to justify myself before others. Believing this way immediately becomes freeing.


There are plenty of inconsistencies in our lives:

A Christian angrily expresses his disdain for socialism, while using the U.S. postal system to send his bill payments with the money he makes teaching public school (where he earns a salary that qualifies him for a governmental stimulus check, which he gladly signs and deposits in his FDIC insured bank account).

An individual asserts that religion is narrow-minded, so he chooses to be an atheist because it is the only belief that makes sense.

A couple is so against their church relocating that they decide to leave and go to another church-- thus, relocating.

A gay couple proudly dons a rainbow sticker in their car window to show the public that they stand for diversity, while the attendees at their parties are predominately gay couples who voted for Obama.

A Christian agrees that relationships are vital to growing a healthy church, and is upset that his church doesn't organize a program to go door to door asking total strangers why God should let them into heaven if they were to die tonight.

A man chooses only to vote for candidates who are "pro-life" (meaning against abortion), but has never once wept for the Iraqis the U.S. has killed, saying "That's different. It's a war."

A woman complains that her church is not compassionate enough, but gets upset when her church gives gifts to inner-city poor people who are are jobless and unappreciative.

A man gets mad when someone tells him God isn't mad at him.

A person believes that all religions are equally valid paths to God, but refuses to go to a church that believes Jesus is God.

A pastor preaches that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church, and later that night he rolls his eyes when his wife asks him to take out the trash and give the kids a bath.

A couple criticizes their church for years, and then they blame the youth ministry when their own kids eventually turn away from the church.

A heterosexual couple gets worried when a homosexual couple attends their church, but refuse to acknowledge and repent of their own sin of legalism.


Wouldn't it be easier to stop fighting about these things, to stop trying to defend ourselves, and to simply admit that we are ALL (in the words of Brennan Manning) "a bundle of paradoxes"?

What if admitting this freed us from judging people who act differently, believe differently, and look differently, and therefore freed us from bitterness, impatience, condescension, and self-righteousness? These are the sins that are most prevalent in my own heart, and they lead to rather ugly traits from which I long to be delivered. So, what if being free from these traits took our attention off of our attempts to justify ourselves, and opened our eyes to believe Paul's words to the 1st Century Roman Church (which was much like the 21st Century American Church):

"You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. . . Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? . . . for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 2 & 3-- NLT and NIV)


This thrills me, because it reminds me that I am justified by grace through faith in Christ, and therefore no longer have to justify myself before others. Knowing that I am accepted by God doesn't lead to me want to sin more, or to cover up my inconsistencies, but to admit that I am frequently wrong, judgmental, unforgiving, and hard to get along with due to my stubbornness. And it leads me to shout for joy that I am covered by the One who loves me anyway. And when I admit this, the more God breaks in and replaces and rearranges the mix-matched furniture of my heart, revealing how consistently inconsistent and hateful I can be. And slowly but surely, my hypocrisy and self-righteousness begin to lose their grip on me, and God reminds me through His Word that he loves me not because I am right, but because I am HIS. And He promises to change me, to bring me more into conformity with His ways, and to forgive me when I fall short.

That's a truth that IS consistent-- for all eternity.