It’s not a scandal when the town drunk is also sleeping around with prostitutes. But it is a scandal when a crown prince does the same thing. A royal prince is expected to conduct himself with greater dignity. And how much more should we carry ourselves with embodied dignity as the true sons of God.
On the one hand, we allow ourselves to be human – full of many shortcomings and struggles. But this grace is never an excuse for sin or for us to otherwise forget who we are. And we do this when we use our bodies to merely get drunk on the passing pleasures of this world. We take something holy and treat it as common – disregarding our embodied dignity and the glory we are to reveal.
To be sure, we’re the sons of God and we’re co-heirs with Christ. We’re also called saints and a royal priesthood. And this means we’re called to live to a higher standard. It’s not okay for us to conduct ourselves in the same way everyone else in the world does.
This is not a point of pride or arrogance, but simply knowing our dignity and worth, and the Crown we’re called to represent and serve. And we soil our image and block others from seeing God’s goodness when we disgrace ourselves with foolish sins.
Of course, repentance and forgiveness are still available. But part of renewing our mind is remembering how to conduct ourselves in this world.
In the end, you’re part of a royal family. Honor your body as a family jewel and conduct yourself in this world with the dignity becoming a true son of God.
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