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“Perfect” Kindness
“You,
therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The
word perfect (Greek teleios) is derived from telos, meaning “end”,
“goal”, “limit”. It therefore signifies “attaining to the end,
complete, mature”. But here the comparison is made between God and His
children, and so the word must mean more than “mature”. From the context we
can deduce that the God like quality, which must characterise a true believer,
is the quality of self-disinterested love and kindness for others, even
for those who deserve no kindness. This kind of
“perfectness” consists in the basic intention or attitude of the believer,
rather than in absolute sinlessness. This is perfectly possible
for believers who, by faith, draw from Him the grace to maintain that attitude
of kindly benevolence and sincere desire for the good of others. I am one of those who spend some time each day reading the
Letters to the Editor page in the newspaper. People seem to write letters to
newspapers for various reasons. Many use the Letters Page as a forum for
commenting on topical subjects. A number are passionate about particular issues.
Some seem to treat it all as a game and an opportunity to score points for
cleverness. Others appear to be consumed with hatred and they pour out their
venom for all to see. Recently one such person wrote a particularly nasty letter ridiculing Christians and their beliefs. Such attacks are not uncommon on the Letters Page. But I regarded this particular letter as an especially vicious form of religious bigotry, and after stewing over it for quite some time I was eventually unable to prevent myself from responding. Fortunately, in doing so I did not refer to the specific letter that had aroused my ire, but rather I mentioned the regular occurrence of such bigotry on the Letters Page and said that if people could not exercise a little self-control, the editor should do it for them. A
far from perfect approach to the issue! The point scorers stepped in and
punished me severely for being “intolerant of intolerance” and we then
proceeded to engage in some verbal jousting in subsequent letters.
At least I had the last word. I later discovered that I had disturbed a
couple of prominent members of One Nation by daring to attack bigotry. Quite some time later there was another letter from the
same person who wrote the original letter that I regarded (and still do) as
religious bigotry. In his second letter he revealed details of the sexual abuse
he had suffered in a church school here in Canberra. He wrote again recently and was back to pouring out his venom
on “religion”. However, when I read his most recent letter I found that I was better able to understand his point of view. I still disagree with him quite strongly, because to my mind there is a clear distinction between the Christian message and those individuals who use the trust given to them as members of the clergy to perpetrate their sexual abuse on children. I also find it illogical when people judge the vast majority of Christians on the basis of the few whose actions clearly are not Christian. But I now appreciated where this man was coming from and
was able to view his latest pronouncements in a more kindly light. When people
are subjected to terrible ordeals, such as sexual abuse, their true values are
revealed in response to that experience. Some
who have had such experiences show themselves to be people of exceptional
quality by rising above their devastating experiences.
For others, who had placed their trust in the church and took their
values from it, the treachery of sexual abuse fills them with hatred for their
abusers and the institutions that allowed them to perpetrate their evil. I see the quote from Matthew 5.48, and the RSV explanation
of it, as being particularly relevant to my outlook, and perhaps to that of
others, on this matter. If we really desire the good of others (including those who
oppose us) we will bring an attitude of kindly benevolence to our consideration
of their viewpoint. And if we do this, rather than becoming angry at their
anti-Christian statements, we might even come to the view that perhaps the
Spirit of Love is using the religious bigots, as well as the victims of child
abuse, to help rid the church of its corruption. Are these critics of the church helping to rip away the
religious facade that, in some parts of the church, is hiding the moral
degeneration that is hiding there? Has
it not become more obvious over recent years, particularly as a result of the
child abuse issue, that parts of the church are sorely in need of reformation?
(Just think about that. What a
marvellous irony – the idea that the bigots might be working to strengthen the
church!) A more kindly attitude, even to our enemies, can really
open up the mind to the positives that can emanate from all types of people and
situations. I am not suggesting that bigotry is positive.
It is not. The culture of
war is driven by hatred, which so often manifests itself in the form of
religious bigotry. What I am saying is that perhaps when we are able to take a
more kindly view of the pronouncements of those who oppose us, we are also
taking a first, positive step towards overcoming the negativity of the hatred
that they are spreading within our community. And in so doing we are exhibiting
the “God-like quality which must characterise a true believer”. Bill Hughes & & & & & & & & & & & & |
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| Last updated: 1 September 2002 |
I
recently came across these words while looking at the Sermon on the Mount. On
reading them I breathed a heavy sigh and wondered about the impossibility of
what the words were proposing. How could I possibly be perfect as God is
perfect? Fortunately I then noticed that the RSV had a footnote explaining what
the verse was saying. It stated as follows:
