Over the last few weeks we’ve been looking at the Seven Deadly Sins because they’re a nice way of condensing what’s considered sin into seven basic categories (yea for simple). The most interesting thing I learned from my limited research on the topic is how every sin is connected to how we’re not showing love to others. These sins were never meant to be condensed to the surface level. For instance, gluttony is commonly thought of as eating too much when, in fact, it’s about overindulgence of anything at the expense of someone else. This means gluttony isn’t even just the result of eating too much; it also means having two cookies and not offering to share with someone who has none. The sin of gluttony is about selfishness, which pretty much describes our culture. That means anyone with a giant house (definition of giant is variable), unless it’s used for something in particular like hosting events for the betterment of the community, that owner is living in the sin of gluttony – oops. On top of this, they’re likely falling into the sin of pride for having it while causing others to have the sin of envy. That means the very thing many people dream of is actually encompassed in sin – that’s a crazy concept. At a certain point, we simply have too much because we’ve taken more than our share. Yes, this includes CEOs, banks, governments, and leadership who take at the expense of others. Please know, I believe in fair wages for people who’ve put the work into their careers with education and/or sacrifice. For instance, the man who started the Exotic Car Tours in Hamilton for years lived in a garage with the cars he bought to rent out. His sacrifice and good management helped him develop and maintain a thriving business and he should be rewarded for that, but there’s always a point where we have too much because it means someone else is being screwed. For instance, how can a hospital CEO justify making more than the doctors doing the real work? How can a hospital CEO justify making their exorbitant salaries when that could be cut in half in order to pay for more nurses? The sin of gluttony is alive and well in our culture. But enough of my soapbox.
The downside of the Seven Deadly Sins and churches, in general, is we’ve tried to simplify sin into little boxes, so we can be like “I don’t do that, check. I don’t do that, check. I don’t do that… wow, I’m amazing… and definitely better than that person who does the bad things I don’t.” And there’s pride. Jesus, Himself, tried to break us of that temptation by teaching things like “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!” (Mat 5:21-22) and “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Mat 5:27-28) Jesus wasn’t trying to cause us to have more guilt and shame: “I need to wear a blindfold, so I can’t see women and think lustfully!” He was trying to teach people sin is more complicated than a checklist. It’s not just a bunch of boxes we don’t touch, so we can brag about how great we are. Sin is a way of life. I remember as a kid hearing a speaker say that when he gets up in the morning, he’s already sinned a bunch of times. That’s not what I’m talking about either. That guy was using a checklist system that was ridiculous because he was ridiculous (a fact, not a judgement). Jesus didn’t give us a checklist of sins; He gave us two commands: “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mat 22:37-39) What’s funny is Jesus doesn’t even define what love is. He’s like “Figure it out.” It’s like in the Garden of Eden. God made Adam and Eve and told them to take care of it, but He didn’t tell them how. He was like “Figure it out.” Following Jesus is a lot figuring things out as you learn and develop your relationship with Him. After all, how do you love anyone with all your heart, soul, and mind? Talk about an impossible command. We all fall short.
After the four Gospels about Jesus, the rest of the New Testament is the start of people getting us started with figuring things out. For instance, that’s where the Apostle Paul defined love, which is often used in weddings when it’s meant to be how we should treat everyone (i.e. love is patient, kind, etc.). Jesus didn’t define love, but God was probably like “I should give them some help defining love because people suck at it.” (person) “Love is a feeling, right?” (God) “Not even close.”
The great thing about knowing sin is a way of life is we don’t have to be as scared of it. We don’t want to take God’s forgiveness for granted, after all: “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.” (Jam 2:26) At the same time, however, we need to fight the temptation of hiding from God because of a mistake we make. Instead, as we looked at in the last lesson, sin should be a reason to praise God because it is a constant reminder of how we need Him and His offer of atonement through Jesus.
Arguably the most important Christian to ever exist, the Apostle Paul, struggled with sin or at least its temptation as he wrote: “So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses…” (2 Cor 12:7-10a) Paul demonstrates how our sin and weaknesses aren’t things to be ashamed of, but to be proud of and to even find pleasure – that’s very different than the message I was taught growing up.
To take this a step further, our sin can actually be something that unites people together as we humble ourselves enough to share what we struggle with behind the curtain. Too often we try to keep our sins to ourselves, which is exactly what the devil wants because by not sharing, we end up feeling alone while giving our sin more power over us – the devil is very clever.
To role model the kind of honesty I’m encouraging, let’s get honest. So what is the thorn in my flesh (i.e. what is my main sin)? Simply put, I don’t enjoy life. (That sounds fun doesn’t it?) As long as I can remember, I’ve preferred the night because it’s like “Oh good, the day is wrapping up. There’s nothing terrible to face.” What’s crazy is I found my Dad dead on the floor from a heart attack at 2am, yet I still prefer bedtime; you’d think I’d be scared of it now, but nope. I should note, I love the sun and bright days. I just don’t enjoy the whole living part. (Does that sound bad?) A lot of my life is just getting through (not a great way to go). The truth is on one hand, life is just life, but on the other, it is a precious gift. For me, however, it’s more like “Ehn.” That’s not good. I’m pretty sure God is like “Don’t you like the gift I gave you?” (me) “Yeah, yeah, oh, yeah, I mean, yeah…” (God) “I should’ve given you a better acting ability.” (me) “My wife wishes for that, too. She also wishes I could say ‘I love you,’ without sounding sarcastic.”
What’s interesting is I know life is a gift, which is the fuel behind me being a recovering workaholic. I still appreciate the importance of being fruitful and enjoy the feeling of accomplishments, but for me, I’m less like my daughters, “Look what I did!” and more, “Thank goodness that’s over with.” I think my biological dad might really be Eeyore. What’s interesting is even as a baby I was known for having grumpy face, which my own third born has unfortunately inherited. Maybe it’s a third born thing: (third borns everywhere) “It’s hard being the best in the family.”
Paul taught: “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” (Phil 4:4) Oops. There’s a command I’m not following: (me) “Um, can I just not murder people? That’s easier.” Fortunately, I can follow Paul’s teaching to see my weakness as my strength. (I’m turning this frown upside down… kind of). For instance, my negative brain helps me be a better therapist: (me) “You find life hard? I get it.” It also helps me create ideas for making things better. I’m not so much the “If you can’t do it, teach it (and get a cushy pension).” I’m more the “I want to figure this out and make it better… unlike how I deal with technology, which scares the oo-da-lah-lees out of me.” (That’s a Disney’s Robin Hood reference; I might be the first to reference that movie in 40 years, but I’m that cool). Probably the most important thing about my sin of a lack of joy is I don’t think I’d be a Christian without it. That’s pretty crazy, isn’t it? Praise God for my sin because it’s what’s kept me connected to God.
Probably the most important thing for me to note is my lack of enjoying life has nothing to do with any particular person. Last week I noted that guys don’t watch porn because of something the wife isn’t doing. This is the same. This is not a reflection of my wife, friends, or parents (unless my biological dad really is Eeyore). People are actually a great distraction for me, but they can’t fix me. Fortunately, I’ve been very blessed to learn and develop tools for better dealing with my brain, which means I know how reduce how heavily I’m impacted. What are these tools? All of the things I discover and teach in my therapy practice and blog.
Sin doesn’t have to be something of which we’re ashamed. It can help us be better people.
May your sin be something that you can see as a blessing and bring you closer to others.
Rev. Chad David, ChadDavid.ca, Learning to love dumb people (like me)