The part of the sermon that Baptist preacher from North Carolina that has gone viral concerning if he were on a jury of a trial of a man accused of raping a woman who was wearing shorts he would vote for acquittal disturbs me every time I think of it. When someone who professes to follow Jesus reveals such a lack of understanding and empathy, I hesitate to ever identify myself with their religion.
A sentence from my current reading, The Identity Trap by Yascha Mount, metaphorically slapped me in the face. In a different context but jarring my thinking here, he said, “In practice, universal values and neutral rules do often exclude people in unjust ways. But an aspiration for societies to live up to the standards they profess can allow them to make genuine progress in treating their members fairly.” (My bolding.)
Not everyone (in fact no one?) can live up to the standards that Jesus set. Reading his words in the gospels you get the feeling he knew he was setting the standard so high that no one could ever congratulate themselves for achieving them. But if many of us aspire to live up to those standards, then the Jesus movement should continue to progress toward the type of society Jesus envisioned.
Indeed, so many people responded to that pastor’s comments that the church posted an apology on its message board. I can hope and pray that the incident spurs some growth in all of us.
Where is your heart? My heart? Are we trying to live up to Jesus command of how to live—by loving God and our neighbor? Don’t give up. Every step in that direction helps.
Faith Venture 
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