Have you ever been convicted? This term has a legal sense but for this case consider the moral sense. Conviction of sin leads to repentance. What has been most effective in convicting you? The written word can do this, and believers commonly encounter forceful spoken messages from those with positions of authority in the church. But these are not the only alternatives. What about the unspoken and even unaware examples of those who act with an integrity that you do not yet possess? You have heard that actions speak louder than words.

Do you have a high-status job? This is a real concept whether it is discussed openly or not, and everyone knows where they fit in the hierarchy. Those who serve are considered to be of lower status than those who are served, but even within the realm of servants those who serve higher status people outrank those who serve lower status people, because they ‘tag along’ on the status of those they serve. You may recall that I addressed this matter of serving and turned the whole order upside down. By conventional logic those who serve the least of these would be at the bottom of the order.

Are you in over your head? Children usually wade before they learn to swim, and the same imagery applies to the development of your faith. It is comforting to be able to touch the bottom, but this is only wading. This severely limits the places you can go in the water, keeping you close to shore. But there is risk and uncertainty and a loss of control in being in over your head. If you have been in deeper water you know that the water will support you even though it is not solid. In a spiritual parallel, do you know that the divine mystery will support you if you are in over your head?

When someone complains about a problem, do you evaluate the situation to determine if they did anything to contribute to it by their own actions? Does this make it easy to dismiss their suffering by saying it is their own fault? Do you see how harsh and judgmental this is? Self-inflicted wounds are still painful. Who could be excluded from such a calculation? Who has perfect self-control and perfect comprehension of the consequences of their actions? How many lead such perfect lives that they don’t need grace and mercy? Would this include you?