Some Thoughts On Sin

In the churches I attended as a youngster, the idea of sin, and what constituted a sin were frequent topics of discussion.  

When I was very small, I just knew that sin was bad, and that there were a lot of things that were sinful.  As I got older, I began to notice a pattern when it came to how sin was defined in my church-y context.  

In short, I came to the unshakable realization that everything enjoyable in life was probably a sin.  There was even an 80's pop song about defining sin from the Pet Shop Boys that I listened to (which was a sin) secretly, of course (also a sin). 

Here's a bit of the lyrics: 

When I look back upon my life
It's always with a sense of shame
I've always been the one to blame
For everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
Has one thing in common, too
It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a sin
It's a sin
Everything I've ever done
Everything I ever do
Every place I've ever been
Everywhere I'm going to
It's a sin

When I first heard that song, I wanted to shout "Amen!" to it because that's exactly how I felt.  

Sin is a loaded word.  In my opinion, Christians almost always mess up any conversation about sin because most Christians believe that sin is almost always connected to behavior.  

In reality, the Greek word for "sin" that is used throughout the New Testament is hamartia, which means: "Missing the true goal and scope of life." 

In short, "sin" is what happens when we live in the confined space of an inauthentic life as opposed to the expansive freedom that comes from being our authentic true selves--the people God created us to be.  

Imagine how our lives would be different if we shook off the shame and guilt of our old definitions of sin.  

Such a move would enable us to step away from living in such a way where what is good, beautiful and true in our lives get twisted into smaller, uglier versions of themselves.  

And we would then be free to be the people God longs for us to be.  

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.