When is it no longer legalism?

Every few months or so, I find myself asking this question. When does an act, behavior, or what have you, become distinctly and instrinsically sinful as opposed to being something that is meant to fit the box of the Christian "image"? I really don't know. I'm not sure if this should bother me or not. I only know that I want to avoid legalism and also avoid ways of being pulled further away from Christ. That doesn't necessarily mean that I feel closure, however.

I love listening and watching stand-up comedy. And, putting it out there, I enjoy the comedy of comedians like Louis C.K., Dane Cook, and Pablo Francisco. Guys that are most definitely crass and crude with their material. I enjoy R-rated comedies like Superbad or The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I get a lot of amusement out of its humor.

Perhaps I'm trying to justify myself, but I feel that this humor taps into who we are. We are people that are impure; we lust, we let our tempers get out of control, we covet, and we hate. There's a certain honesty about that type of comedy. And sometimes when it gets dirty or dark, it's oftentimes out of sheer absurdity. The humor becomes surreal. Does Louis C.K. really want to get AIDS so he can pass it onto deer so they can die? No, of course not. He's using hyperbole to make a point that he really hates having deer on his property. Do I always enjoy their humor? No. There are many times that I think Louis or Dane go over the line for me. Blasphemous or hurtful. They frequently condone values that are very much un-Christian.

It's said that our behavior reflects what we take into our lives. In fact, even the Bible says something to that effect. I don't know the verse off-hand, but I do recall it. The point is that it's a truth and therefore absolute. The Word also says to be in the world and not of it. I'm trying to figure out where one ends and the other begins.

I'll use another example of something I enjoy. I really dig mythology, especially of the Greek variety. It's imaginative and it's informative of what culture was like in their respective eras. It also consists almost exclusively of pagan gods and magic and, compared to Christianity, acts of sin. Is it morally sound for me to gain pleasure from the stories of cultures that created and worshipped false gods? Stories that were created by people who likely condemned themselves to hell? I think that this is a legitimate question to pose to one's self, because I don't know the right answer. I really wish I did. My only advice, my only comfort, is to pray for proper descernment and vigilance toward what might be sinful. Pray to recognize what is offensive to God and what He probably doesn't care about. As frivilous as this sounds, we're going to have to answer for our sins, regardless.

-L. Travis Hoffman

6/3/2015