I deliberately put the word in caps because it is so serious that it needs emphasis. I know that there are many in the church world who would like to mitigate the word to make Christianity more ‘popular’, but you really can’t. Sin is devastating. The current popular definition of sin is ‘missing the mark’. Yes… it is. But it is also far more serious than that. If sin was as simple as missing the mark then why is it so difficult to admit it, and correct it?
God never puts anything between us and Him – we’re the ones that do that. Sin is the creation of separation. And this is accomplished through our willful decision to go opposite of His commands. And actually… there aren’t that many don’ts, there are far more do’s.
Don’ts are those things that either harm us or harm others. If you look closely and consider them, they aren’t impingement’s on our ‘rights’ or ‘privileges’ they more often speak to that part of us that wants to do what we want to do when we want to do it – and without reaping any negative consequences. We are typically quick to demand our rights, even if it becomes a denial of others’ rights. Conversely, the do’s are an extension of the personality of God – kindness, gentleness, consideration, etc. We all want to experience these though we don’t always want to share or express them with others.
It’s not always easy to be vigilant against sin because sin is so insidious. What may sound harmless or start out relatively benign can quickly turn to sin. And sin is never harmless. If we find that a change has occurred in what we are doing/saying, we need to change immediately and warn others of the problem. That’s what repenting is…simply changing your mind, changing your direction, and seeking forgiveness. The only positive aspect about sin that I can see is that you can easily change.
