Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Banality of Sin

"The Good News doesn't make any sense until you know what the bad news is, and the bad news isn't that we have a few harmless peccadilloes and we screwed up on the way between high school and college or whatever—it's deeper than that. It's unrelenting." - Bill Mallonee

I have some pretty good weeks. I study the Bible several times. I pray nightly and thoroughly. I am kind to most of the people I meet. I avoid gossiping. I might even do something to help someone else. How in these weeks do we avoid self-righteousness? How do we continue to identify as sinners?

Even in my best weeks, I recognize that there is a part of me that is fundamentally opposed to the commands of the gospel. I see lust for glory, fame, wealth. I see opportunities for service wasted. I see anger and impatience. I see a part of me that wants to sin for the sheer sake of sinning.

Many Christians surpass the obvious vices. When we pray for forgiveness, we ask "For what?" Pride sets in, and with it a view that there are good people and there are bad people. The notion that we are responsible for crucifying Christ begins to seem absurd. We must learn to regard sin not as acts but as a state of rebellion that we cannot fully let go in this life.

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