“To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us” - Dietrich Bonheoffer.
The ethic of modern man cannot escape humanity's unique obligation to engage with the problem of evil. It was a question placed under extraordinary scrutiny in the aftermath of WWII. War, a period of intense pressure and conflict, illustrates congruence between the most beautifully transcendent and equally appalling human behaviour. Dietrich Bonheoffer was a German priest, martyred three weeks before allied victory in Europe. He made a deliberately public stand against the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler and paid with his life for the liberty of one of history's most persecuted people groups.
Contrast that with the life of Franz Stangl, commendant of Treblinka extermination camp who was convicted of co-responsibility for the slaughter of at least 900,000 people. Stangl repeatedly made decisions to collaborate based on his own well-being and survival. In the process he discounted the consequences of his actions.
“The power of choosing between good and evil is within the reach of us all” – Origen (AD 185-254) The false wisdom of hindsight is never more emphasised than in such extreme circumstances. The moral integrity of these men’s actions speak for themselves. However on what basis do we stand in judgement on Stangl’s decision to collaborate with evil? Before making blind assertions our own response would be to mirror Bonheoffer, let us first consider the extent to which we are personally willing to sacrifice self-interest in each mundane daily decision.
In consideration of what allows men such as Stangl to perpetrate great evil, author Gitta Sereny made this astute observation. ‘What is decisive in law, and therefore in the whole conduct of human affairs is what a man does, rather than what he is.’ Humanity falsely conceptualises its responsibility. What a man is encompasses not only the things deliberately outworked, but relies upon the actions he fails to take.
“he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:38 NASB
If we are unable to grasp what it means to genuinely put ourselves second we will never pay more than lip service to suffering, oppression and injustice. In our individualised western world, we each require an intimately personal conviction of this. Each of us must wrestle with the unequivocal mandate over our lives. Please don't heed a short sighted and self-involved attitude to sin, it is not a wholly personal shortcoming. If you insist on only seeing the road which is too hard for you, there will be countless people who never hear the reason for the hope that you profess. I incite you to consider, in light of the account that will be required of your life, your response to Christ’s call to follow after him.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil... Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” - Dietrich Bonheoffer.
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