Jim Wallis reminds us of need for social and spiritual consistency

Jim Wallis at the World Economic Forum

Carol Forsloff---Often we hear someone arguing against abortion, while declaring their belief in the death penalty, which is why Jim Wallis admonishes people to look at their religious and social beliefs and determine if they are consistent.

Wallis is a Christian writer, speaker, political activist and founder of the magazine Sojourners.  His principal thesis is that Christians often do not act consistently in accordance with Christ's teachings.  He points out how that is especially true of the Christian right and that Democrats should not allow the right wing folks to own the territory of moral values.  He further notes how vital it is for everyone to be consistent with belief and practice.

The man who offers this advice on consistency, Jim Wallis,  is married to the Rev. Joy Carroll, who was one of the first female priests in the Church of England.  One of his well known books on the topic of religion and politics is entitled On God's Side.


That lack of consistency people have spills over into every arena of life.  As a people we talk about the value of living a healthy life, yet we eat ourselves to death.  We admonish our children to be honest yet cheat on our taxes.  We talk about having an open mind yet won`t read anything with which we disagree.  And we weep over the poor in the world but walk down the street and avert our eyes when we see the homeless on the streets.

Wallis tells us to live courageously, take charge of our words and behaviors, and be honest with ourselves and live in accordance with our beliefs in a consistent way.

His ideas make for good contemplation on a Sunday.  But for all the rest of the week they make sense as good practice.