*This piece first appeared in the print edition of the Kingsport Times News on Sunday, January 30, 2022.
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Sin is a tricky topic. The modern word itself has a confusing etymology tracing through Old English, Medieval German, and possibly Latin. However we may trace it, there is a sense in which sin is connected with guilt, the doing of something wrong. In the New Testament, the Greek word translated as “sin” has a connection with an ancient marksmanship term – “missing the mark”.
As I was thinking about this today, I was going to say, “Most of us don’t like to talk about the concept of sin.” But that’s not true at all. Many of us love to talk about it in a variety of forms. Exactly what those sins may be or how we define them seems to depend a great deal on our ideology. Whether from the political right or left, atheist or devoutly religious, Christian or not, we all have categories of sin that we regularly consider, look at, and condemn in the world around us. But here’s what I find interesting: the one category of sin that is almost universally avoided is our own. My own shortcomings, failures, faults, and flaws…these I tend to avoid.
The words of Jesus come to mind: “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5, NIV)
It’s much easier to find things wrong in the world “out there” than it is to find the things wrong within. But, ironically, I am in no position to effect meaningful and positive change outside of me unless I’m able to deal with what’s going on inside of me.
Augustine, writing in the 5th century, observed that the condition of Sin was “humanity turned in on himself.” An inward orientation, a self-focus, this is at the root of all sin.
Contrast this position, of an inward oriented person, with these words from Jesus. When someone asked him once, “Lord, what’s really important in life?” He responded, “Love the Lord your God with the entirety of your being and love your neighbor as yourself.” If sin is “humanity turned in”, love is “humanity turned out”. The Way of Jesus, becoming a person of genuine Love, is the antidote to sin.
The beauty and brilliance of Jesus’ message is that effort alone will not get the job done. Effort can do quite a lot, but it will never bring you all the way into becoming a person of love. His invitation is that of surrender, to take his teaching and yoke upon you, to receive his forgiveness, to take up His Cross and walk in his Way, not your own.
Most of us know there is a lot of needed change in the world. But perhaps the place it’s most needed is in my world. To take a page from Jesus’ book, let’s start there and then work our way out.
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Author's Note: I just wanted to share a couple reflections on my own writing over the last few months. First off, I had a piece published in the Upper Room Daily Devotional on December 17, 2021. That was fascinating (for a lot of reasons) and seriously humbling as I experienced the impact of the words I'd written in a different way. To receive messages from people all around the world was pretty cool and a great reminder of the gift that this is (to me as much as anyone else).
Second, I haven't been as active on here the last two months due to some other writing projects I'm working on. Specifically, I'm trying to develop some of my research, thoughts, and content from recent sermons into a book. For a variety of reasons (not least because I have no clue what I'm doing), that's been a challenging project. In a way, my writing is a zero sum game...if I spend time, effort, and mental energy on a project, other areas are neglected. I guess we'll see whether or not that's a fruitful endeavor in the end, but I feel fairly confident it will be (in some way).
Third, I just wanted to take a moment and invite you to marvel with me about the fact that the above writing was published and shared in our local newspaper. For all the doomsday proclamations from some corners about Christianity being persecuted in America...I can still write about sin and Jesus and redemption in the newspaper. How long that lasts I don't really know...but I'll take what I can get when I can get it. As always, your prayers, support, and encouragement are appreciated as we seek to share the Good News of God's Kingdom in our world.
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