2020-11-20 15:41:09

Uncle Tom's Cabin

My view of Christianity is such that I think no man can consistently profess it without throwing the whole weight of his being against this monstrous system of injustice that lies at the foundation of all our society; and, if need be, sacrificing himself in the battle.

Augustine St. Clare (Uncle Tom's Cabin - Hariett Beecher Stowe)

The book that I took this quote from is an amazing work of theological views woven into a historical novel. It is not just a book about slavery but about the love of Christ and the claims of Christianity to live according to it.
Not only is the book telling us how inhumane it is to buy and sell people like cattle or worse. It steps back to appeal to our christian principles - love your neighbour. It tells us that having not done something is what we are judged for.
Let me qoute Augustine again (he has an amazing and beautiful character development that I can relate to deeply) - He says the following as a comment on the passage in the gospel of Matthew, where Jesus talks about the Judgement: "they are condemned for not doing positive good, as if that included every possible harm." - Our greatest problem might not be the sins we committed but the good things we omitted. We see this in many other places in the bible, yet we easily forget it and think that we might be living as well without that in mind. But I have to remind both you and myself of it.
We can not lay back and say: "I'm not doing any harm and I believe. So why should I not go to heaven." You actually need to bring fruit. Not bringing fruit is throwing shadow on other trees without doing any good. It is a harm or to state in in Augustine's words again it includes every possible harm.
Don't worry about the things that you should not do. Think about what you can do - do it - Now!