Why Sinners?

Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?

 - From Matthew 9 

It's bad enough when serious Bible students misquote, or misinterpret, something from Scripture. It seems to happen with rapidly increasing frequency, as History propels itself forward (or backward).

But in our time of shaming, guilting, and canceling, we suddenly have scoffers, doubters, and general adversaries of the Church going around quoting Scripture (where have I read about this before? God's adversary quoting Scripture?)

Especially this one quoted above - a famous incident where Jesus is seen having dinner with "sinners." Modern anti-Christians love to point this one out. 

But they miss the point. Entirely. 

Hard Scriptures, about acceptance and tolerance, or about how to be "nice, "good human beings," or about Real Love, or Godly Love, or how not to be a hypocrite . . . are never intended as fodder so that God's adversaries can make sport of imperfect people trying to follow Christ. They are not meant for professing Christians (especially of the celebrity variety) to virtue-signal by way of attacking other believers so that they may appear politically correct to "cool" and powerful people in society. 

They are not to be used as leverage that will ensure that we are "liked" by all the "right" people (even if that means we sever godly bonds with members of the Body of Christ). 

If a Scriptural passage causes you to look down on other believers, or any other people, while feeling righteous for your own sake . . . you're missing the point. You're reading it wrong. 

It's supposed to make you squirm. Yes you, the reader. 

You get the point by putting in the place of "sinners," people that you would not sup with, because, you know, you're such a good person. 

That means, for most people crowing about why Jesus ate with "sinners," in the year 2022, they have to put "MAGA" people in the place of "sinners." Because, clearly, those are the people that they consider subhuman. 

If you want to understand why some people are racists, start by understanding why there are people you can't stand. Because both are at the root of why we would marginalize anybody.

There was a time when Science actually researched this, and reported it.