Sin as self-destruction
We understand nothing. We think God punishes us for sin. Religious folks think it is just; non-religious folks think God is a killjoy. Neither understands the nature of sin. God warns us away from sin because, by its very nature, it wounds us. He loves us and wants to protect us from harm and spiritual death. If a man atop a mountain aerie puts up a wired gate blocking access to a rickety bridge and posts warnings that the bridge is unsafe, that if you venture there you will likely fall to your serious injury or death – if you go ahead and mount the fence anyway, go charging across the bridge and fall, breaking your arm and ankle, do you think the man is punishing you for disobeying him? Of course not! He was trying to protect you from behavior he knew would wound you but you were too stupid to believe.
When in one of my bad moments, which are more common that I would like to believe; I will often fall into the mode of finding someone to blame. Who better than God? Yet it is me, I, myself, who brings things about wherein I can suffer consequences. When looking at the world we see what self-centered actions cause. It is also there for anyone to see that Nationalism and all the forms of prejudices are also very harmful to us, yet we persist. The same goes of course for religion gone sour, or power hungry etc….let us not forget politics as well, and yes, of course, that worldwide scourge of mayhem… soccer. Then when things fall apart we have to find someone to blame. It would be hard for me to say that “really Mark, most of the things that happen to you, that you find less than pleasurable, is your doing”. People ask me why humility as a virtue is so hard to acquire (?), well I understand why it is for me. I am example number one.
I think one of the most absurd things I have ever seen, is a man in cutoffs, without shoes, or shirt, or helmet, racing down I-20 going about 80 miles an hour driving with one hand….I guess if he crashed there could be many reasons other than it being his fault for the crash, the broken body and the loss of his skin. God could be in there somewhere. I do think that it is a perfect metaphor for sin.
I know that it can get more complicated than that. For when I sin, no matter how small the sin, it has repercussions that can go far. In the NDE, people often experience how one act of ‘sin’ can do harm too many that would have been impossible for them to contemplate until they had their ‘Life Review”. The same goes for the good that we do. One Body, One Head, Jesus Christ, we are all members and Jesus identifies with the ‘least’. I think whoever the least is for each human, is different for each of us,…the call to love that which is unlovable in our eyes. That is why ‘Love is the greatest spiritual gift of all, for when we truly have it, it flows from a deep healing in our souls by the hidden work of God’s grace. –Br.MD
