A Change in Point of View or Perspective: Sin

⁴ For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. Psalm 5:4 English Standard Version

             Sin is a tricky thing. I find it abhorrent when I see it in someone else; yet, I tend to either overlook or minimize it when I find it in myself. I’ve even used such words and phrases as, “white lie,” or peccadillo to ease my own mind. We all do it, minimizing our failures and maximizing the failures of others. I suppose it is human nature. After all, we want to think well of ourselves and given how the world tends to beat us down I understand. But even taking that into consideration, we often take a lackadaisical attitude towards sin and its results. We buy into the worldly gradation of sin, thinking that as long as I do not commit one of the “biggies,” I’m okay. Nothing could be further from the truth. We would do well to remember that eating the wrong food got Adam and Eve evicted from paradise and started us down this dark path. Of course it was not quite that simple, but you get my point.

            An understanding of God’s stringent holiness changes my view or perspective of sin. When I was a young Lieutenant in the Army, I worked at a communications facility that used chemically pure water to cool our satellite transmitter. You would think that using water to cool hyper-powerful electronics was crazy. But chemically pure water H₂O does not conduct electricity. It is the impurities in water that make it conductive. Occasionally we’d get some impure water, and the resulting fireworks were not only impressive, but also catastrophic for our equipment. It is the same with God. He cannot abide with sin…even the smallest amount, eating the wrong fruit for example. We take sin, contamination, lightly; but, God cannot.

¹ Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; ² but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2

My sins separated me from God. This separation was so profound that He had to send Jesus as an atoning sacrifice to deal with our, my, sin. This changes how I view sin.

            No longer do I view sin as something casual. After all, it took the death of Jesus on the cross to clear my account. Also, I must stop grading sin on some sort of human generated sliding scale. Sin is sin, and sin separates me from open communion and relationship with the Lord. Sins do have differing societal consequences. Harboring hateful thoughts in my heart may be between God and me. Murder, on the other hand, profoundly affects society. Each of these examples have wildly different societal effects; but, they both separate me from God. We must keep in mind this passage which illustrates the interior and often pernicious effect of sin.

²⁰ And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23

Though my sin may spill out into public view, it finds its origin in my heart. My sin provides a clear picture of the inner state of my heart. So, any sin, insignificant or grievous, opens a door or window into my heart. All sin separates, destroying my relationship with the Lord and with those around me. How should this influence my view of sin?

            As a Christian, I must seek to avoid the human temptation to rank order sin. Of course, some sins carry a greater cultural weight than others; however, scripture reminds me that all sin separates us from God. When I engage in categorizing some sins as worse than others, usually I do so to make myself feel better than others…to position myself spiritually so I can look down on them. This truly stems from self-centered pride. This pride, this self-serving habit leads me to another practice I should avoid.

⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7:4-5

            Whenever I think about sin, especially the sin of someone else, I need to keep my own failures in mind. After all, as a dear friend of mine says, “My first sin done me in!” All too often I try to feel better about myself by pointing out others’ failures. This works even better if I can increase their feelings of guilt. Jesus reminds me that before I start picking at someone else’s faults, I should tend to my own. Keeping my own desperate need for God’s grace and forgiveness helps me be gentle with others.

¹ Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. ² Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. ³ For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Galatians 6:1-3

When dealing with someone else’s sin, I must always be gentle, remembering that I too am woefully failed and in constant need of God’s mercy. When I let pride creep into my heart, personal failure cannot be far behind. I must remain vigilant, guarding my heart against the tendency to criticize others while giving myself a pass. So, how should I shape my viewpoint regarding sin?

            First, I must remember that God cannot abide sin and that my sins separated me from God and required the sacrifice of His son. God is holy and as such cannot abide with sin. He cannot tolerate it. There is no “little” sin when it comes to God’s holiness. Our sins have fully severed our relationship with God and there is nothing that we can do about it.

Second, when dealing with the sin of others, I must remember my own sins and deal gently with them. There is no room for harshness and pride. God gently extended grace and mercy to me, so I must go and do likewise.

 

Thought Questions: 1. How do you view the sin in your life? 2. How do you view the sin in someone else's life? 3. Do you feel like you sins are little while other's sins are big? 4. How do you think God views your sins? 5. How can you be gentle with your brother when helping them deal with their sins?