Binding and Loosing

We would like to think that the things we do in private stay in private.  The reality is that they don’t.  Even if the details of some specific event may remain quiet for a time, the implications spread.

When Jesus told the disciples, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven,” I think that’s a major piece of what He was talking about.  It is not a promise that you and I can ruin heaven by our ‘binding’ here on earth, nor that we control forgiveness.  Rather, it is an acknowledgement that we are connected.  Each one’s choices have implications beyond that one.  That is God’s design.

Here in America we value our independence.  “If you don’t like the way I’m livin’, you just leave this long-haired country boy alone.” (from “Long Haired County Boy” by The Charlie Daniels Band) — is nearly axiomatic for us.

I ride a motorcycle.  Here in Florida, riders are not required to wear a helmet (provided you are over 21 and have at least $10,000 medical insurance coverage).  From time to time I am asked what I think of helmet laws, after all, “it’s your head and it’s your life.”  While it is my head and my life, these are not only mine.  My family and friends would be profoundly impacted if I had a serious head injury.  First responders might have to live with the image of my brain smeared across the pavement.  Even if I survive, the costs for my medical care could be astronomical, a cost that will be born by my family, others insurance customers and, perhaps, my fellow tax payers.  My decision to not wear a helmet impacts many other people, even people I don’t know and don’t feel any connection to.  (BTW, I ALWAYS wear a helmet!)

One of the things that Jesus teaches us is that we are connected.  We are connected in Him.  We are connected because God designed us and our world for connection, not for isolation.  I studied environmental sciences in college and one thing that is overwhelmingly clear is that living things are interconnected.  Sometimes in ways that are obvious, sometimes subtle, and sometimes we miss the connection entirely.  But we are connected to our world and to one another, far more than we know or understand.

Whatever we ‘bind’ and ‘loose’ in our personal lives goes beyond our own lives.  I still believe that it is right that we respect one another’s choices, but we can never forget that when we decide something, we are not just deciding for ourselves but for others as well.

Where in your life might this understanding challenge you to make a different choice?

This column appeared in the September 10, 2023 edition of St. Joh’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.

If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.