The right balance

Jesus went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed Jesus. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mk 2,13-17)

The devil is like a beast constantly searching for someone to devour, but even his freedom is limited by ours. Obviously, however, if the Christian believes he will not fall into his grasp only because he does not associate with sinners, he deludes himself. The Lord saves us by helping us to save our least fortunate brothers, not by avoiding them at any cost in order to be reassured. Let us strive to find the right balance between the prudence of not frequenting certain bad environments and our duty to be evangelizers.