Popular Categories


Dirksen: God values honesty, sincerity


Ken Dirksen

Suggested readings: Nm 11:25-29 Ps 19 Jas5:1-6, Mk 9:38-43

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.”

In modern times it’s not popular to talk about condemnation.  However, Jesus warned of hell and being damned right along with proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven.

Understand that God loves us and wants us to share in His life eternally.  Moses told Joshua, “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!

Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!”

But God doesn’t force anyone to believe or repent. Jesus warns of hell because damnation means eternal separation from God. “Better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.”

Sin verses righteousness is often framed as a conflict between what’s fun and what’s good. But the actual choice is between what is selfish and what gives life. James warns about the dangers of being rich. The danger is greed and putting your trust in wealth while others are in need. “The wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud” and “you have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.” This is materialism. We desire the good life so much we will use our neighbor, violate their dignity, to get what we want.

The Christian is called to reform according to God’s way because that gives life.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.”

God’s way can seem mysterious and difficult, but consider the greatest sin from today’s reading. Jesus said if anyone should cause a disciple scandal, it would be better sunk to the bottom of the sea. God values honesty and sincerity, without these one cannot love.

The world today is marked by dishonesty and consumerism. Conventional wisdom says, “the end justifies the means, so say whatever is needed to get what you want.” The antidote is radical discipleship and striving for virtue. We cannot achieve this on our own because we don’t know what is true without God. It’s telling that as society becomes more secular, it becomes less free. Only by returning to the way of God will we experience true life now and in eternal life.

“The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever, the ordinances of the Lord are true, all of them just.”

Kenneth Dirksen is a deacon at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and a member of the Uvalde Ministerial Alliance, which contributes regular religious columns to the Uvalde Leader-News.