Christopher Hitchens called P.G. Wodehouse one of the greatest writers in the English language.
Died 1975 he wrote in the driest English wit. And one of his imperishable characters was a butler, Jeeves. The man essentially had no flaws. Jeeves is brilliant, witty, loyal, resourceful, and always getting his upper-crust, indulgent, and somewhat dense employer, Mr. Bertie Wooster, out of one jam after another.
Here’s an exchange at the end of “Jeeves Takes Charge.” Bertie had bought a fashionable new suit and Jeeves was decidedly against it from the start. After getting him out of mess, Bertie realizes that Jeeves was right about the suit as well.
“Oh Jeeves,” I said, “about that check suit.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Is it really a frost?”
“A trifle too bizarre, sir in my opinion.”
“But lots of fellows have asked me who my tailor is.”
“Doubtless in order to avoid him, sir.”
“He’s supposed to be one of the best men in London.”
“I am saying nothing against his moral character, sir.”
“All right, Jeeves,” I said, “You know! Give the bally thing away to somebody!”
He looked down at me like a father gazing tenderly at the wayward child.
“Thank you, sir. I gave it to the under-gardener last night. A little more tea, sir?”
Here’s the thing. Jeeves is always a role player. Bertie and his nonsense are central. Why? If you have a character that never makes a misstep, that always says the right thing, that always makes the right decision, then that’s not a story. But why is that? Because there is no life there. Jeeves fascinates us, because he does not exist. He’s a mythical creature. He enthralls us, since he’s almost god-like.
So, Jeeves cannot be in the center. It has to be Bertie and his foolishness.
And so here’s the question to you: what is a sin? Is it a sin to be ignorant? To not know something? Nope. You were never supposed to have eaten from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It is not a sin to be ignorant. Don’t worry about that (everyone else already knows anyway).
It’s not a sin to be ignorant, in fact it’s fundamental to your humanity.
For you were meant to live in a relationship of trust with Christ.
It’s not a sin to be ignorant.
It’s a sin to not trust.
Tom+