Standards

Matthew 5:27-29  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.


Jesus takes matters of morality extremely seriously. He not only leaves the Jewish law in place when it comes to morality he makes the jewish law even more stringent. On the other hand Jesus dismantled all the barriers that men set up to discriminate against others. he touched lepers and others who were unclean, he accepted women and foreigners, and he always spoke of the need to care for the poor. He  separated himself from those in power when it came to justice, but insisted on even higher standards when it came to morality. As I look at our society I see the opposite of what i see in the teaching of Jesus. We seem to erase all those moral standards that Jesus upheld, while today any support for the poor or other social justice issues are often ridiculed.

One thing is clear to me however, Jesus strongly pointed out that there are significant consequences for breaking the law. Today the mood of the public is that we just need to be a little good,whatever that means, and we will be rewarded with heaven. Many don't even believe that hell exists and mort certainly it will be ever so easy to avoid. I can't find that in the teaching of Jesus. Over and over he speaks of those who will spend eternity in hell. Whose standards do you think really matter, Jesus or our human society?