What is Sin?

Until somewhat recently I never really thought about this question. Sin was stuff you did that God didn't like. The obvious answer is found in the 10 commandments, but Christians don't generally limit themselves to such a short list:). The definition is often expanded to the more inclusive "being in rebellion against God." At some point as a teenager I made an even greater shift (which seemed to be viewed by many as a step in a more righteous direction) to view sin not from the perspective of things you do that are against God, but rather, anything that you do that is not in complete alignment with God's perfect will for your life. I think I got this from "be perfect like your heavenly Father is perfect" which I admit I took somewhat out of context.

It may sound holy, but the result of such a mindset is pretty distorted. What happens is that you cease to distinguish between actual "sins" (rather, you consider most thoughts and feelings to be "sinful") and fall either into a rhythm of flippancy towards grace or a sense of total despair.

Such a definition may sound extreme, but my experience with the Evangelical church is that its teachings and actions are not far from this extreme perspective. Prayers of confession are encouraged to be given frequently--and the more frequently you confess, the fewer actual sins you can think of. But of course you know that you're probably forgetting something. After all, if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So, you end up confessing what you could have "done better". "I'm sorry for being angry" or "for being grumpy" or even "I'm sorry that I don't love You like I should."

Is not loving God "like I should" a sin? Well, it does break the first and greatest commandment.

So where does that leave us? Sinners, of course, saved by grace. That's an easy answer. But none of us wants to be in a state of sin. After all, we're dead to sin. How can we live in it any longer? How do we know if there is a moment in time where we're not sinning?

The reason I bring this up is because I just recently read on another blog someone discussing the evils of the sin of loneliness. The idea being that if you're feeling lonely, you're not letting God fill your needs.

That may seem extreme to many of you, but why? Why is it extreme? Why is sadness not a sin if anger is? And if you think anger is not, why isn't it?

As a result of this conundrum of a question, I am a big fan of the liturgical practice of absolution of sin. Whatever the heck that sin was, it's nice to hear someone say that it is now gone.