Legalism Today

Legalism Today
What trivialities do we obsess over, and what weighty matters of the law-justice, mercy, faithfulness- might we be missing? Does God care more about nose rings or about urban decay? Grunge music or world hunger? Worship styles or a culture of violence?
Author Tony Campolo, who makes a regular circuit as a chapel speaker on Christian college campuses, for a time used this provocation to make a point. "The United Nations reports that over ten thousand people starve to death each day, and most of you don’t give a sh--. However, what is even more tragic is that most of you are more concerned about the fact that I just said a bad word than you are about the fact that ten thousand people are going to die today." The responses proved his point: in nearly every case Tony got a letter from the chaplain or president of the college protesting his foul language. The letters never mentioned world hunger.
Much of the behavior considered sinful in my youth is now common practice in many evangelical churches. Although the manifestations have changed, the spirit of legalism has not.~ excerpt from "What’s So Amazing About Grace?" by Philip Yancey