NAUGHTY OR NICE?

Which list do you think you fall into this year? Will it be the naughty or nice list? How is it even graded? Is it graded on a scale or a curve? Who determines if it is naughty or nice and what about those things that are on the fence of both? Do they count or do they cancel each other out? Does one big Naughty cancel out a lot of Nice? Do people even care about the list? Based upon the behavior of some, it would seem they don’t much care.

We live in a polarized society. Finding two people who agree upon everything is rare. Politics, the economy, Covid, vaccines are just a few of the topics that bring division and discord among even family and friends. There are too many things you just don’t want to bring up for fear of creating conflict. Either way you go you’ll wind up on someone’s naughty or nice list.

From everything I can read in the Bible, God doesn’t keep a naughty or nice list. He doesn’t grade on a curve or sliding scale. Sometimes the life of faith is one step forward and two steps back. Even the Apostle Paul said the very thing he desired to do, he didn’t, and the things he desired not to do, he did. Doesn’t that sound like all of us? One might wonder if the Apostle Paul had so much trouble, how can any of us succeed? The answer to that question is that it isn’t about our success, it’s about Christ. And that’s what faith is all about.

Could you imagine what it would be like to try to stay on the nice list? I’ve learned that even when I’m trying to be nice, I’ve ended up on the naughty list. Sometimes it’s because I’ve been misunderstood and other times it seems more about the mood of the person doing the grading. But then again if God is keeping score his method is just and fair. But like Paul I must admit that I’m a wretched man no matter how hard I try. The good news? Well, that’s what the Gospel is all about, Good News. Read it sometime, you’ll find that God doesn’t keep a list. Think about it.