Sin part 1

I realize that lately most of my posts have been pretty heavy rather than reflecting my normal perky attitude that I have in real life, but I've just been really contemplative over things lately. I'm going through a lot of growing lately, so I'm trying to share the process whenever I get the chance to write on here. I promise I'll write more whenever I get a desk. If you'd like to contribute to my desk fund, I'll take any donations. But on to the point.

I've been thinking about sin a lot lately and how I view it. I feel like for so long I've thought of sin as an action. I never really hated it, but simply thought it was bad and tried to stay away...sometimes. But lately I've been exposed to sins real effects and my view of it has started to change.

I believe that the biggest lie people use as an excuse for their sin is that it's their sin and they'll deal with the consequences. I think that people can so easily give this excuse for their behavior because they're naive enough to believe that their actions have no bearing on those around them and only on themselves. People are all slightly masochistic, I think. We don't mind doing things that will hurt us in the end which is why we find it so easy to sin. We can deal with the eventual repercussions because of the immediate pleasures. But, I believe that if we truly believed our actions had effects on people we care about, we would be more likely to think before acting.

You see, sin isn't just a personal issue, it's very much a public issue because its effects leave the person's life that originally committed the sin and seeps into the lives of others.

Don't believe me? Then ask the children of a divorced couple. The dad might sit the kid down and tell him, "This is just between me and your mom. It has nothing to do with you." But the truth is, that sin is going to scar that kid for the rest of his or her life; effecting how they view relationships, how they trust, and their entire view of life. Or maybe ask the parents of a person who commits suicide if that sin had any effects on them. Or maybe the rape victim who committed absolutely no sin at all, but has to deal with the filth of another man's sin. Ask her husband if that sin has had any effect on him.

My point is simply this, when we start to view sin as more than a personal issue, we begin to take our first steps towards viewing sin with the hatred that God views it with. Sin is absolutely evil. It is the definition of death and nothing less. It disconnects us from our creator and Lord and curses us to hopelessness. We can't be followers of Christ and be apathetic towards sin.

If we, as the Church, could just grasp a hatred for sin, I feel that we would be much more effective. Rather than viewing those far from God with judgmental eyes, we could see them with compassion and see that they are trapped under a curse and in the grips of an evil that is keeping them from Jesus. We could approach them with thoughts of rescue rather than condemnation. And we might be able to remember that we too were once captives of death.