Having Camel for Dinner?

I like camel meat. At least I think I like it; it is so often a part of my diet. I don't know whether I have a natural affinity for camel or have simply acquired a taste for it , but I know that I often find myself eating it.

Gnats, on the other hand, I cannot abide. It consumes a good bit of my time and energy trying to get them out of my drink. And there are so many of them! It's funny; there was a time when I never noticed gnats. But once they were pointed out, I found no end to the struggle against them. There were gnats in my thinking and gnats in my speaking and gnats in my actions and gnats in my reading and gnats in the movies and gnats on TV and gnats in my friends...

So, who has time for camels like injustice and unforgiveness and unfaithfulness? Besides, enough gnats could add up to a camel. Okay, so it would take quite a few gnats; but it's possible; it's conceivable. Well... maybe it's not possible; but camels are such a pain to get rid of, and they are so easy to roast and serve up with a sweet sauce to make them go down smoothly; and the habit of gnat-straining is so difficult to break, and people are so impressed when I strain my gnats (and those of others) that worrying about camels has little to recommend it.

You see, straining gnats is such a great way to impress people with my table manners that I find the practice difficult to resist. On top of that, gnats must be bad because everyone is straining at them and encouraging me to do so. Am I supposed to forgo the accolades of friends and incur their displeasure by poo-pooing the main dish? No. I will strain at gnats with everyone else and eat camel whenever it is served.

After all, what advantage is there for me in refusing to eat camels? For example, if I deal justly with everyone I know, I will have to give up advantages I can ill afford to give up. Any businessman with a lick of sense will tell you that the first rule is to gain the advantage and keep it. I figure that the rule applies to all relationships. Justice is a relative term, anyway.

And, MERCY? There's a loaded issue. If I go around having mercy on people who have sinned, I'll end up swallowing their gnats in the process. That's a good way to be asked to leave the table. On top of that, what kind of message does that sort of behavior send about the gospel? Frankly, when Jesus refused to condemn the woman caught in adultery, He came dangerously close to condoning her behavior, in my opinion. I know that He told her to "go and sin no more' and that she apparently didn't sin any more; but the risk, not to mention the appearance, of such a policy is simply unacceptable. Why, if we start forgiving sin, before you know it, there won't be any standards at all; and we won't be invited to eat at any of the better restaurants. No sir, I'm staining gnats in my drink and everyone else's.