The word is SIN and has been on my mind a lot lately. I thought I'd begin with a definition:noun
1. estrangement from God
2. an act that is regarded by theologians as a transgression of God's will
3. ratio of the length of the side opposite the given angle to the length of the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle [syn: sine]
4. (Akkadian) god of the Moon; counterpart of Sumerian Nanna
5. the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet
6. violent and excited activity; "they began to fight like sin"
verb
1. commit a sin; violate a law of God or a moral law
2. commit a faux pas or a fault or make a serious mistake; "I blundered during the job interview" [syn: drop the ball]
There was a time in my life when I took great offense at this word. After all, I was basically "a good person" - this word didn't apply to me. Or did it? I'd heard the story about Adam and Eve in the garden, but didn't really get it. And then something changed and I began to understand the choice that God had given man.
There was a time in my life when I took great offense at this word. After all, I was basically "a good person" - this word didn't apply to me. Or did it? I'd heard the story about Adam and Eve in the garden, but didn't really get it. And then something changed and I began to understand the choice that God had given man.
A couple of weeks ago I listened to someone speculate about the garden scene, using the Book of Job as a mirror. When the Lord spoke of Job's devotion and love for Him, Satan scoffed, "Well you give him everything, of course he feels that way. Take away all that he has and surely he will curse You." The Lord allowed Satan to make things very difficult for Job, taking away all that he had and everyone he loved. Despite unyielding circumstances, Job remained faithful to the Lord.
Adam and Eve were given a choice as well. Perhaps Satan scoffed, "Of course they are devoted to you, they've been given everything. " For whatever reason, God granted the enemy permission to enter the garden. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their relationship with Him was broken. Mankind's relationship with Him was broken. Sin entered the world and along with it came sickness, death, and decay. The Bible makes it clear this is when evil entered the world:
Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, [no one being able to stop it or to escape its power] because all men sinned. Romans 5:12
Sin is a violation of the moral character of God and His laws, as revealed on the pages of scripture. In studying the Bible, we discover what God commands us to do and not to do. We also learn about the essential elements of God's nature - and whenever we violate those, we sin. Let me use my own life as an example:
- After leaving the store, I realized the clerk missed one of the items. I used to look at these as "freebies"; I now see it as stealing.
- Having to get the last word in with my husband. I used to look at this as "my way is best"; I now see it as pride.
- Spending every waking thought on diet and exercise. I used to look at it as "keeping fit"; I now see it as idolatry.
- Purchasing an outfit with the intention of returning it after a night on the town. I used to look at it as "smart shopping"; I now see it as lying.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg! As I spend time in His word, the Lord continues to reveal other areas of sin in my life. Why? To bring about repentance and to reveal my need for a Savior.
I told you it would be a deep post.
UNTO YOU, O Lord, do I bring my life. O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You. Let me not be put to shame or [my hope in You] be disappointed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Yes, let none who trust and wait hopefully and look for You be put to shame or be disappointed; let them be ashamed who forsake the right or deal treacherously without cause.
Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day long. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercy and loving-kindness; for they have been ever from of old. Remember not the sins (the lapses and frailties) of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your mercy and steadfast love remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will He instruct sinners in [His] way. He leads the humble in what is right, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and steadfast love, even truth and faithfulness are they for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity and my guilt, for [they are] great. Who is the man who reverently fears and worships the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way that he should choose. He himself shall dwell at ease, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net.
[Lord] turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are multiplied; bring me out of my distresses. Behold my affliction and my pain and forgive all my sins [of thinking and doing]. Consider my enemies, for they abound; they hate me with cruel hatred. O keep me, Lord, and deliver me; let me not be ashamed or disappointed, for my trust and my refuge are in You. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for and expect You.
Redeem Israel, O God, out of all their troubles.
Psalm 25
2 comments:
Ya weren't kiddin' were ya? :)
Ya know the really neat thing that I realized as I was reading through the differences in the way you now view certain things as opposed to how you used to view it - I realized how amazing it is that in the new perspective there is so much freedom!!!
The path may be narrow but it's not dark! In the light of Christ on the path that He has cleared for us we have so much freedom that does not exist(!!!!!) on that broad, darkened, well traveled, overgrown with roots and trash path that the enemy would have has travel!!
I enjoyed that post- that's all I'm sayin...I just kind of get excited about that sometimes :)
That freedom is huge. What has also changed is that I want to see the junk. It is very difficult sometimes to face certain things about myself but that is a MUST for God to be able to do anything about it. There is no condemnation involved; it's simply becoming aware of it, bringing it to God and asking for forgiveness. It used to feel like "my junk" was locked up in a trunk - I'd lug it around from here to there, knocking a few people out along the way. I still have the trunk but check it DAILY; when I bring the junk to God, my trunk is empty again.
What gets twisty sometimes is that God's view of sin is pretty black and white; making excuses or exceptions is simply more sin. Picture it as a parent with a child - when I tell my child not to touch the stove, they may decide to go ahead and touch it but will feel pain as a result. What do we think of a child who continually disregards his parents? He's usually considered foolish and rebellious. This is very much how it is with God.
What I have learned over the years is that His way works; my way complicates things, just adding more junk to the trunk.
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