Disrupters

Sometimes it takes a disrupter to set things right again.

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately. This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave-traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. - 1 Timothy 1:8-14

Today is the day on which we commemorate Brother Martin of Erfurt, better known as Martin Luther, the monk who disrupted the entire Church and set forth changes that eventually eliminated corruption in church offices.

In today's reading Paul describes himself as such a disrupter as well, someone who believed he was in the right, but found, through Christ, that he had corrupted the teaching of the prophets, focusing on laws rather than their intent.

We may not think of Paul as a disrupter because a lot of what he says about the godless may be what we believe today, but in his time, some behaviors he abhors were not only tolerated, but were encouraged.

Slave trading, for example is one of those occupations that survived long after Christianity took hold and spread, and was even encouraged by Christian landowners who benefited from the ownership of slaves.

Sometimes disruption doesn't lead to change immediately, and many may not happen in our lifetime, but that doesn't mean we should hold back.

If we see something, we should say something.

And if we are eventually proven right, all who come later will benefit, even if we don't.

Thanks, Brother Martin, for giving us an example to follow.

More to come...