Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (Rom 2:4)
Lord, you desire repentance when I sin. Grant me such a heart, and don’t let me excuse my sin or take advantage of your kindness.
I once worked as a substance abuse counselor for the Salvation Army, which provided drug and alcohol rehabilitation for the homeless. We gave homeless men a warm bed, three meals a day, and a job and required them to stay clean and attend counseling during their time in the program. I saw a lot of men come through, and for every man who legitimately wanted to change there were nine who wanted nothing more than a free bed and food.
Some would come into the program when the weather got cold and then leave in the spring. Some would hop from city to city — three months in San Antonio, two months in Austin, two months in New Orleans. Some would manage to get their hands on some crack or a six-pack while in the midst of the program. Of course, the Salvation Army was not blind to these facts, and we would occasionally kick a man out of the program or refuse readmittance to a repeat violator. Nonetheless, most of the men in the program knew how to play the game, and most took advantage of the system in one way or another. In essence, someone was willing to show these men some kindness, but most abused that kindness for their own ends.
We understand this. We see it all the time. We see it in the welfare system. We see it when children ask parents to cosign for a loan. We see it when nations play a game in order to get military help or financial aid. Abusing someone’s kindness is not restricted to the homeless. It’s a human thing. You’ve done it, and so have I.
But kindness always has a purpose. The Salvation Army did not show kindness to alcoholics so that they could turn around and keep drinking. Instead, the kindness was meant to help them change.
God’s kindness is this way too. His kindness is meant “to lead us to repentance” (Rom 2:4). We humans, however, have an uncanny ability to twist the kindness of God to our own ends. We abuse His grace. God shows us His grace because He knows it is the only way we can be free from the sin that binds us, but we turn it into an excuse for further sin. This is W.H. Auden saying, “I like committing crimes. God likes forgiving them. Really the world is admirably arranged.” This is Bonhoeffer’s “cheap grace.” This is the woman who gives herself license to sin because she is “not under law but under grace.” This is phony. Many who claim the name of Jesus have been phony for too long. They say they are His, but they won’t turn from their ways. They like the Jesus who is gentle and mild because they can have all the benefits of religion without any of the cost. They can eat up His kindness but never repent.
They may fool themselves, but they do not fool God. They show contempt for His kindness. They trample His grace under the feet of their desires. They are more interested in themselves than they are in the glory of God, and their religion is a game. They are taking advantage of the system, except, in the end, God will require of them an account for their duplicity.
Grace most benefits those whose hearts are genuine just as the warm bed and food most benefited those men who sincerely wanted to change. Grace is a marvelous thing. Without it we are “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1). It is our lifeline to God. But God does not lavish us with grace in order for us to continue to live as we please. God is after something real in our lives, something much grander than mere forgiveness. He wants to transform us. If that is not what we want, then we should stop playing games and admit that we do not belong to God. Better to be honest than to try and fool everyone and end up fooling ourselves.
