Does your family have a swear jar? Do you remember those? Whenever a curse word is uttered in the house the perpetrator must drop in a quarter. It is a tool that some use to help control their language. My family has never had one, which is a shame, because based solely on my own lack of self-control, I could have funded college for all my kids, or bought a beach house.
But the idea of it got me thinking; what if we had to pay for each of our sins? You may not like the word “sin”, too old fashioned, that’s fine, call it indiscretions, errors, peccadillos, (a Latin term meaning, ironically, “little sins”). It doesn’t matter what you call it, but I think it points to something we all know instinctively; all crimes must be paid for; all wrongs must be, somehow, righted. Justice must be done.
Religious people tend to see God Himself as a giant swear jar. Just keep dropping in quarters to keep Him quiet and off your back. Bribe Him, so He ignores all your “indiscretions”. Do this all your life and at the end of the play, if the swear jar outweighs your crimes, you get to go behind the curtain. But how do you know how much is enough? Also, or a god who can be bribed is, by definition, unjust.
The eastern religions have a different approach. More like a philosophy; Karma. Karma is all about balance, cause and effect. Good intent, and good deeds contribute to good karma and happier rebirths. Bad intent, and bad deeds contribute to bad karma and unhappy rebirths. You do not even really need a god for it to be effective. It is a natural law, like gravity. The metaphysical residue of this life effects the nature and quality of our future lives. It is “you reap what you sow” par excellence. I find the concept of karma comprehensive, simple, elegant, and terrifying.
Terrifying? Yes, because the bottom line of it seems to be that we all get what we deserve. I do not want what I deserve. I would be recycled by the universe forever. And after a billion rebirths, I would still be standing there, holding my jar full of coins. There are not enough quarters in America to get me through life, regardless of what comes out of my mouth. Because whatever wants to come out of my mouth comes out of my heart first, and my heart is the criminal. I do not want justice, I do not want oblivion, I do not want karma; I cannot use any of that. What I need is GRACE.
Grace is unmerited favor and love toward a person who does not deserve it. That’s me. Grace is not God being kind to good people. Grace is God being kind to bad people. Again, that’s me. On bad days, I feel beyond His grace. On good days I feel I do not need His grace. Both feelings are lies. Grace meets you where you are, but it does not leave you there. I am not what I should be, but I am not what I was, and I am not yet what I will be, because of grace.
What if you could marry someone who was so wealthy, and extravagant, and generous, that they had no interest in your truckload of quarters? All debts cancelled. All swear jars forever empty. Instead, the jar becomes a vase for flowers, flowers of grace and mercy.
Jesus said, “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” At the heart of creation is a person. And this person is an endless sea of grace who is open to all who thirst. He is not looking for payment from us, for He has already covered that at His own expense. I am banking everything on his kindness, his mercy, and his grace. He has no swear jars, so give away your quarters and follow him.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me…