‘Live and Let Live’ is for Shallow Thinkers

If you’ve never heard someone voicing the euphemism ‘live and let live,’ you might just be a hermit.

The ‘live and live let live’ folk are everywhere.  You may even have one of them in your family or among your friends.  And those who express this sentiment probably think it is a pretty pithy statement. Alas, it is not.

It’s a Cop Out

The reality is that ‘live and let live’ (LALL) is a cop out.  It’s a nothing burger that shallow thinkers latch onto because it’s easier than really thinking through what ‘right living’ means.  And truth be known, the devil is likely fostering such thinking because it ties right into pride (hubris).

LALLers think they are wise because the devil convinces them they are on the right track when it comes to morality.  It’s the old ‘God doesn’t want you to eat the fruit of the tree of wisdom of good and evil because it will make you like Him’ ploy.

“Don’t let God make a fool of you,” the devil says.  “You are a smart person.  Think for yourself.”  But, of course, it’s the devil who is fooling us by making fools of us.

Quite often people offer up ‘live and let live’ as a retort when the topic of homosexuality comes up in a discussion.  And, sadly, the topic of homosexuality come up quite often now, during the month of June.  (It’s sad on a number of levels, but mostly because June was once considered the best month for women to become brides.)

The individual who offers up the LALL bromide (when asked about his or her thoughts on the homosexual lifestyle) will reply saying something like “Live and let live, I always say.”

Replying

The reply to such a statement is, “Do really mean that?  What you are saying is that, in your opinion, immoral actions like lying, pedophilia, bestiality, adultery, abortion, self-mutilation, and same-sex sexual relationships are all acceptable.  You are saying you are okay with people being immoral as long as their actions don’t affect you.”

The LALLer will likely respond to such question with “No, of course I don’t mean that.  I just mean that if two consenting males or females choose to have sexual relations, it’s none of my business.  They are not hurting anyone or forcing their sexual preferences on me, so I see no reason to object to their homosexual lifestyle.”

And with that statement the individual will probably want to rest on his or laurels.  But it would be a mistake to allow the person to do that.  As Catholic Christians we are called to instruct others in God’s truth.

James 5:19-20 tells us, “My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

But this is where things can get dicey.  Most people do not want to harm a relationship by getting into an argument or getting confrontational.  So some tact is called for.

Tact

The response to such a statement could be something like, “Well, you might recall that God makes it perfectly clear to us in the Bible that such immorality is godless and sinful, unholy and profane (1 Timothy 1:9).  Dismissing what God tells us, and condoning sin, imperils our souls.  And allowing a sinner to go on sinning is also not being charitable to the sinner.”

Such a comeback may have the LALLer hemming and hawing a bit before he or she recalls the ‘judging’ comeback.  “Well, like Pope Francis says, who am I to judge.”

The response to this could be something like, “We surely must certainly leave judging to God.  But correction is not judgement.  Immoral behavior is sinful, and Scripture tells us we should correct sinners.”

Calling out immoral behavior is not passing judgement on a person acting immorally.  Legally appointed judges condemn or acquit.  And when we die, so, too, does God – the perfect judge.  But by recognizing and calling out sinful actions we are neither condemning nor acquitting.  We are simply saying that certain actions are immoral.

Correcting Sinners

We are, in fact, told to correct sinners three different times:

“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19).

And St. Paul tells us in Galatians:

“Brothers, even if a person is caught in some transgression, you who are spiritual should correct that one in a gentle spirit, looking to yourself, so that you also may not be tempted.  Bear one another’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:1).

While in Colossians he says:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another . . .” (Col 3:16).

And in John 8:3-11, Jesus admonished the scribes and Pharisees for condemning the woman caught in adultery but He did not chastise them for recognizing the sinfulness of the woman’s act.  He even then told the woman to go and sin no more.

God’s moral laws were spelled out clearly in the Old Testament.  We are told in Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing is an abomination.”  That’s pretty matter of fact.

Same-Sex Relationships are Immoral

The New Testament makes it clear Christ did not change God’s moral laws.  In 1 Corinthians 6:-10, St. Paul says, “Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Jesus Christ appointed 72 disciples and sent them to prepare the way for Him, telling them (Luke 10:16), “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

And Jesus’ disciples, speaking for Him, tell us that same-sex sexual relationships are immoral.

All thing considered, the LALL bromide is a phony philosophy that its  adherents really don’t apply across the board.  They only use it to keep from having to deal with difficult questions and situations.