Christ First—Not Comfort First

+JMJ+ It’s frustrating (and frankly dangerous) when people justify sin by saying, “Well, Jesus never said anything specifically about that.”

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

— Luke 9:23

That statement is a way to dodge the truth. It’s a shallow excuse made to sound like deep theology. But it’s time we call it what it is: spiritual pride and moral laziness.

We have the Ten Commandments. They aren’t just a checklist of ten isolated rules. They’re more like foundational categories under which many sins fall. Just because a specific act isn’t spelled out word-for-word doesn’t mean it isn’t addressed.

Let’s get something straight: Jesus didn’t list every individual sin by name that would ever exist. He didn’t say the words abortion, internet pornography, homosexuality, IVF, or drug addiction. He didn’t give specific lectures on graffiti, gang violence, or modern traffic laws.

Why? Because Jesus wasn’t here to give us a 21st-century penal code. He came to establish His Church—a living, Spirit-led Body that would continue His mission, preserve the truth, and teach with authority until the end of time.

That’s why He gave the keys to Peter. That’s why Apostolic Succession matters. The authority Jesus gave to Peter has been handed down through the ages to every pope and bishop in communion with the Church. This isn’t man-made power. It’s Christ-delegated authority.

So when someone says, “Well, Jesus never said that,” they’re revealing a serious misunderstanding of how Jesus chose to operate. He didn’t hand us a book and say, “Good luck figuring this out.”

God gave us the Ten Commandments. Jesus gave us the Church, the sacraments, and the Magisterium. He gave us Himself, the Truth incarnate, and a Church that teaches in His name.

“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church… Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven…”

Matthew 16:18–19

The problem is, so many Catholics don’t want to submit to anything anymore—not tradition, not scripture, not even God. We’re trained by the culture to choose comfort and confirmation over correction. We sit in pews expecting sermons that make us feel good, not make us grow. When the truth gets too hard to accept, when a priest preaches Church teaching on sexual morality, on sin, on hell, people sometimes walk out. Literally. They get up and leave because they’d rather be affirmed in error than challenged by truth. They’d rather surround themselves with a priest or community that conforms to their personal feelings than one that challenges them to grow in truth.

That’s not faith. That’s pride.

Let’s be honest: much of this comes from a deep confusion between “love” and “license.” People say, “But Jesus preached love!” Yes, He did. However, love does not mean permission. True love doesn’t pretend sin isn’t sin. Love speaks the truth because it loves. Jesus forgave sinners, but He always added, “Go, and sin no more.”

If sin didn’t matter, there would be no cross.

We have to stop cherry-picking scripture and treating the Church like a country club. It should never be yet another place (a mere building) where we expect comfort, community, and maybe a little bit of God (so long as He doesn’t interfere too much). The Church isn’t meant to be a lounge for the lukewarm. It’s a battleground for souls.

The Church is not meant to reflect the world. It is meant to transform it.

We are not called to bend Church teaching to fit our lifestyle. We are called to bend our lives to match God’s will even when it’s hard (especially when it’s hard). Sanctity isn’t found in convenience or following our preferences. It’s found in surrender. That means admitting our weaknesses, accepting that we don’t “know it all,” repenting of our sin, and striving every day to be more like Christ.

It’s time to stop playing games with our faith. It’s time to stop treating certain issues as if there are loopholes to justify whatever we want to do. Christ didn’t call us to be comfortable. He called us to be holy.

If we are truly serious about following Him, then Christ must come first—before our feelings, our preferences, even our politics.

Christ always comes first.

Our thoughts, decisions, and loyalties (emotional, personal, or political) should all be shaped by Him, not the other way around.

“We do not really want a religion that is right where we are right. What we want is a religion that is right where we are wrong. We do not want, as the newspapers say, a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world." 

G.K. Chesterton