Mind Your Business

We all like to think we are successful Christians. We all like to think we ‘know what we’re doing’ when it comes to how to live our Orthodox Christian Faith. If that weren’t bad enough, we all also like to think we ‘know better’ than other people how to be ‘good’ Orthodox Christians.

The sad reality is that we spend more time trying to correct other people’s heresy than correcting our own sins. We read the lives of the Saints and are inspired to ‘take on’ the world. We all like to think we are the ‘next’ Saint Mark of Ephesus.

We read the Holy Scriptures as a challenge not to live better, but to correct others. We think because Saint Paul corrected members of the Church that it is our role to do the same. In so many ways, we are wrong. We are not Saint Paul nor Saint Mark of Ephesus.

Brethren, I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men; not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But rather I wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber – not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you.” When one of you has a grievance against a brother, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, matters pertaining to this life! If then you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who are least esteemed by the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between members of the brotherhood, but brother goes to law against brother and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that even your own brethren. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

1^st Corinthians 5:9 – 13; 6:1–11

In today’s reading from Saint Paul, we are challenged to stop paying attention to the sins of those outside the Church. We are also challenged to ‘sit back’ and be willing to be wronged and defrauded. In a similar way I would suggest we are challenged to mind our own business.

Saint Paul isn’t telling ‘individual’ members of the Church to “drive out the wicked person.” He is speaking to the Church through its leaders. Saint Paul is calling all of us sinners when he says, “such were some of you.” If we are all sinners, then we need to work on our sins, not others’.

Trust me on this. The Church can handle defending herself outside to the government etc. The Church can also handle internal strife through the grace of Holy Confession and the Mysteries (sacraments) of the Church. The Church doesn’t need us to defend her.

Go back and read saints’ stories and you will find many more saints that ran away from notoriety than those who ‘took on’ the system. What made saints holy in the first place wasn’t their desire to correct others, but their understanding of their sinfulness and need for repentance.

If you want to know how to be a ‘good’ Orthodox Christian, stop worrying about everyone’s sins. Start worrying about your sins. There are ‘people’ that the Church has chosen to defend her. There are ‘people’ the Church has, to correct others. If the Church hasn’t chosen you, mind your business.

If you want to be a ‘good’ Orthodox Christian, run away from notoriety. Stop thinking of yourself as having ‘perfected’ the system. Remember it was the Pharisees, the perfect ones, that couldn’t recognize Christ. Most saints are recognized generations later by the Church.

If the Church needs your help, the Church will call you like it called the saints before. A saint does not volunteer. A saint is called. Until you are called, mind your business. You have enough repentance to keep you busy.