Redemption and Culture

Even for Christians, redemption is a hard idea to wrap our minds around. Sure, we know that when we earnestly confess our sins, God offers us redemption through His grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But even though we, as Christians, have all been offered this amazing gift, I've noticed we're a little stingy when it comes to seeing redemption with others.

So if it's that hard for Christians to live this out, is it any wonder that our society has so many confused ideas about this. I couldn't help but begin to muse on this when watching TV this week. What I was watching doesn't really matter in terms of the details of the plot, but it was the larger idea that it touched on without even really meaning to.

Basically, the show depicted someone who had done some horrible things in his past. Since, he had reformed, done good, and helped others and turned his life around. But the question was whether that eliminated his past misdeeds. This, of course, was something the characters wrestled with throughout the hour.

I have a couple of thoughts on this. First, redemption and forgiveness doesn't mean you get a free pass. There seems to be this tendency in society to see the idea that you've done something good with your life as a reason to forgo any consequences from the bad that was done. As Christians, we should believe in forgiveness and redemption. We should celebrate it. But letting go doesn't mean forgetting. Doing good doesn't mean you are free from the consequences of doing bad. It just doesn't. I think this is something I struggle with a great deal in our culture, and it's a subtle principle that seems to be more common in our entertainment. It's the idea that, essentially, through good works and a life of service you can atone for what you've done. This flies in the face of our notion of justice.

The second idea that always strikes me is the way we are unwilling to forgive and see people as redeemed. This even happens among Christians, a group that should appreciate forgiveness and redemption the most. And I don't really understand how this has happened.

One of my favorite examples is Michael Vick. As a young man, given too much fame and money before he was equipped to handle it, he made some terrible decisions. Chief among them was his participation in a dog-fighting ring. He was prosecuted, found guilty, and made an example of. This should have been a triumph of our criminal justice system — where too often the hue and cry is that those of means and fame do not suffer consequences.

Vick spent time in prison, went bankrupt, and had his career derailed. But when he got out of jail, he was by all accounts a more humble and changed person. He worked to rebuild his life and career, another example of how our Criminal Justice System is supposed to work.

But somehow people can't let go of what Vick did, they can't accept his redemption. I have talked to so many people at church that still see Vick as an evil, irredeemable person. I find it sort of amazing and quite sad.

I don't know what needs to be done to change this, but if something different doesn't start to take place in our culture and among Christians, we are going to see our culture go to a very different place.