To those of you who think that any kind of religion will do, or no belief in God is okay, let me ask you a basic question. What do you do with your sin? Ask Tiger Woods if sin was costly. He's living with the results of destroying his first marriage by sinning with many women.
Every one of us should be conscious of the fact that we occasionally fall short, that we are sometimes not good enough, or that we willfully choose to rebel, to have our own way, or skate by as we violate a law or ignore fairness or ethics. How many lies does it take to make a person a liar? How many affairs does it take to make a person an adulterer? How many slaps (verbal or physical) to the face of a woman or blows to a child does it take to make a man into an abuser? How many sips of whiskey does it take to make a habit into an addiction?
Sin is not sensible. It goes against what's in your own interest. Sin is also a transgression of God's law. When a human being sins, they violate a boundary that was established to protect their life and well-being. For example, one of the Ten Commandments, "You shall not steal," protects civil society. It codifies a rule of law that guards private property and ensures the peaceful cohabitation of people in a neighborhood, village, or city. You disturb your own ability to dwell securely and prosper when you violate your neighbor.
Sin is a breakdown of personal integrity. It colors all of your life. It diminishes self-worth. It turns right and wrong into shades of gray. It blurs moral boundaries. It devalues human worth. It lowers self-respect. Sin makes humans created in the image of God into beings of dubious identity, not reflecting the Father who gave them life. Sin breaks human and divine law.
Sin not only invites punishment, but it erodes personal character. Integrity is the state of being genuine, trustworthy, true to yourself. What you see is what you get. You are real. Sin makes people into hypocrites, pretenders, counterfeits. One of the requirements the Lord put on Abraham in order to receive God's blessing was that he had to have integrity. Integrity is when you do what is right when no one is looking; you keep your word and remain true. Have you considered that the absence of blessings in your life may be due to a lack of integrity?
What do you do with those things in your life that are sins? How do you eliminate elements of sin from your life? If you can't do this, sinfulness will rob you and cause you to repeatedly stumble. For people who say, "I'm a good person, I'm not a sinner," allow me to quote another of the Ten Commandments, "You shall not covet." To covet means to be jealous, to desire that which belongs to another; to lust after or crave what is not legitimate for you. For example, you may not be an adulterer in actuality, but secretly, in your heart, in your imagination, you want your friend's wife or husband. That is coveting. It is a huge transgression. It is as real as if you'd done the wicked deed and broken up your marriage over it or split their family doing it.
If you sin, you're a sinner. What are you going to do with your sin? I recommend a Savior. His name is Jesus. He saves me from my sins.
-- Ron Wood is a writer and minister. Email him at [email protected] or visit www.touchedbygrace.org. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 01/22/2020