John 8:7 — So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

A friend and colleague at work stepped into my office today. We chatted about a discussion in his Homeowners Association about whether to start “vetting” potential buyers.
It’s the sort of thing that makes my hackles rise … but it seems to be more and more prevalent nowadays. But when I heard this, John 8:7 popped into my mind — How quick we are to judge people and categorize them as “OK” or “Not OK”. (And notice I said “we” — I’m not without sin in this respect!)
I know the application is not exact — Jesus shifted the threat to the woman taken in adultery from the legal realm to the moral realm, and then asked her accusers to consider their own purity (or lack of it) before taking the law into their own hands. The HOA is considering whether to take perfectly lawful action … But still, it’s a matter of judgment isn’t it? — saying “you’re not good enough to live with people like us”
Thinking about this, I started to wonder what was OK in a potential buyer and what wasn’t. I don’t have hard evidence, but I’m pretty sure that most residential developments have their share of adulterers, thieves, wife-beaters and other scoundrels!
Another thing occurred to me as I thought about this. What does it say about our view of property and ownership? The Christian view might be that what we have is all from God, and should be held loosely. I know that’s not the world’s view — but a view that says property is so precious that it must not be exposed to this risk of contamination by the “wrong sort” of neighbor seems like taking possessiveness a little too far.
That led to another thought. Why does God give us anything? What are we supposed to do with what He gives us? Now I don’t mean to take a too (self-)righteous point of view. Of course “He gives us all things richly to enjoy” — but isn’t there more to it than that? Shouldn’t we be using what we have to encourage and include people, instead of using it to isolate and exclude them?
Now picking on an HOA is a bit like shooting sitting ducks. What really strikes me is that it’s a symptom of a really nasty long term trend. Our society is disassembling the ties of community and family that bind us. Instead of joining together in the Church of Christ, and encouraging others to join, we put up fences — and are surprised when people don’t like us, or attack us. Time to change direction. Instead of casting stones, it’s time to welcome some sinners in!