Monday, July 27, 2020
715 - Human Nature, Part 4
Spirituality Column #715
July 28, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Human Nature, Part 4
By Bob Walters
“There is none righteous; no, not one.” – Romans 3:10
Our central Christian theme on sin seems to be, generally,
“What did I do wrong and how is it going to hurt me?”
Many a sermon and devotional have been built on that
premise. We love to beat ourselves up in
shame. We sin, and fear what “God will
do to me” or “What will other’s think?”
Most of us have committed head-shakingly awful and/or embarrassing deeds
that – whether intentional, accidental, born of passion, or simply lacking in discipline
and discernment – make us wonder if “God still loves me” and “How can He
forgive me?”
Notice, here, that sin keeps coming back to how it affects
“me.”
As we wrap up this series on sin today I want to leave you
with some thoughts on what sin actually is (and does), and how to live a joyous
life anyway.
Sin. Let’s start with the Ten Commandments. Do or don’t do
these 10 things and you, yourself, will be virtuous, pious, and saved. But when we update that to what Jesus said,
we learn that what constitutes “all the law and the prophets” – the entire
behavioral, sin-vetting shebang – is “Love God and love others.” It’s not about “me.”
I don’t think it is possible to hurt God, but it is possible
to hurt others. And that’s why I don’t
think the commandments are so much a personal behavioral checklist. I think they are a humanity-wide advisory for
“how things will go best with us.” In
other words, maybe “my sin” isn’t so much about hurting me, it’s about how it
hurts others.
Notice how each commandment, each parable, each Jesus
teaching give us instruction for how best to live together. When we isolate sin and salvation to “me” we
miss God’s most important attribute and advice – love. Wonder why God is a trinity, why God is
three? Because love cannot exist within
a “one.” Neither can sin simply exist within a “one.” The danger and effect of
sin is in how it disrupts the peace and love of the community, and throughout
human history there has been plenty of disruption.
Oddly enough, history’s greatest disruption was our greatest
gift – Jesus Christ. He talked, taught, and
demonstrated God’s love for others by going to the cross. The cross is an important point, but don’t
miss the part about “loving others.”
When we don’t do that – love others – that’s when we sin. It’s really not just me; it’s all of us,
everyone.
Our mess in the world of the moment is less a pandemic of
Covid-19 than a larger pandemic of self-directed righteousness. Notice the weird, religious-like culture separating
us by our features and beliefs, calling it “social justice.” Divide and conquer.
To spot the sin, spot the self-righteousness. Spot the separation; the control.
That each of us harbors a sin-nature of self-interest is no
surprise. But our sacrifice in Christ is
best manifested in our ability to help – not hurt, subvert, or alienate –
others. It is to provide freedom; not to
exact a payment of shame, guilt, or silence.
In Christ my on-board sins were forgiven on the cross; His
sacrifice glorified God. Our own joy,
now, happens by exemplifying Jesus’ example of forgiveness and mercy to others
which also glorifies God. I’m a sinner,
yes, but I’ll spend my sin “debt” not on the misery of personal shame, but by joyously
sharing love and mercy for God’s glory.
That’s how we turn sin into joy. Praise Jesus, it’s the best of our human
nature.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com)
notes: my sin affects others; forgiveness affects me.
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