The Two Greatest Sins and General Conference

First of all, I need to explain what I consider to be the two greatest sins. Many Christians could easily identify the two greatest commandments affirmed by Jesus. The first is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is to love your neighbor as ourself. (Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:29-31and Luke 10:25-28)

If these are the two greatest commandments, then it seems to me that the greatest sins would be to violate these commandments. If that is accurate, then the two greatest sins are.... (wait for it)… idolatry and dehumanization. 

Idolatry is putting anything in the place of God. That includes ourselves, our personal preferences, our work, our money our nation, or our sexuality. Seeking fulfillment without God will never be fulfilling. As long as a person is the center of their universe, their universe will be more of a jail than a home. But Jesus opens the possibility of a relationship with the living God who is the source of a greater good, a higher power and a wider perspective on the world. When God is the subject of our ultimate devotion, then we have hope for life. When anything else is at the center of our existence, we are in danger.

The opposite of the other great commandment of loving our neighbor can be summarized in the word, "dehumanization." That means to discount a person who is created in the image of God and see them as being less than human. On a large scale, dehumanization has led to the holocaust, slavery, genocide, and war. On a more personal level, dehumanization happens anytime someone discounts another person, bullies them or refuses to respect them as someone created in the image of God. 

As the United Methodist Church prepares for General Conference, my prayer is the delegations will look to Jesus and avoid these two greatest sins. That means not allowing our denominational structures or our personal preferences regarding human sexuality to take the place of God. The transformation we seek can be seen in Jesus’ who prayed, "Not my will but thine be done."

I also pray that the delegates to the General Conference will respect each other, listen to each other, and try to understand each other as they would want to be understood. That will keep them from dehumanizing someone else based on their beliefs or position. 

We can rest assured that the ultimate success of our church will not come from General Conference but instead from what happens in our local congregations. To avoid the two greatest sins in our own lives is to move toward the two greatest commandments. To love God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves will be the path to life. 

My prayer is that we help each other to see Jesus so that we can become like Jesus. That should happen at General Conference and in our churches, homes and communities. Will you join me in that prayer?