Picking Our Sins

I just read this post, and I wonder; does this surprise anyone?  Here’s and obvious disclaimer – I am clearly in the 71%. Here’s the thing.  We all choose the sins that we are going to be offended by.  And for most of us, this poor body-stewardship is not one of them.  I know that I regularly wake up in the morning and am determined to change my behavior so that I am healthier, but often by lunchtime I’ve forgotten that determination.  Also I know that overweightness is a sin I find very easy to forgive in others.

However there are a host of sins that I judge much more harshly in myself and others.  I am not saying that the other sins that we judge more harshly don’t deserve the treatment.  I am, however, wondering how we decide where to draw that line.  Why are we offended by cussing but not overeating? Over the years I have known Christians who were offended by women wearing pants, and Christians who are seemingly not bothered by anything.  I really don’t have any suggestion for where the arbitrary “sin line” comes from.  I would suggest that it comes from our church, but for the most part we chose churches that hold to our views rather than molding ourselves to the views of our church.

Here’s what I do know.  God does not have an arbitrary line.  He hates our sin – all of it – and He wants us to “be holy in all our conduct.”

The Most Hypocritical Blog Post Ever

Today’s topic is hypocrisy.

I’ll start by asking a question, what exactly is hypocrisy? Is it a difference between teaching and action? Or is it a difference between belief and action, or is it something else?

If I struggle with a particular sin, is it hypocritical to tell others it’s wrong?

Let’s use the example of the sin I cannot hide. All you need to do is look at the banner on this blog to see that I clearly am engaged in very poor stewardship of my body. My weight is a problem. I believe that it is a sin. In fact, I know it’s wrong to be obese. So the question I have is, do I become a hypocrite for saying so, when clearly it is a problem I struggle with? If this is hypocrisy, then what is my option? Do I have to pretend that it’s okay? Am I barred from ever speaking on the subject? What about related questions? Can I not tell my youth it's wrong to smoke because it destroys their bodies? Am I stuck in some sort of unending question mark loop?

To restate the question - can I acknowledge a sin and at the same time struggle with it?

I have often said that everyone is a hypocrite in some way. Usually there is something that we say we believe, but we live in a way inconsistent with that belief. For example, if I say that I love fishing but I haven’t fished in 2 years, (I’m definitely not talking about myself now) does that make me a hypocrite, a liar, or just somebody with a poor sense of what I like. (Just for the record, everybody finds time to do what they want to do.) Maybe that’s too trivial to be hypocrisy. Maybe I say I am committed to conservation and I do many good things for the planet, but I’m just not willing to take that extra step and switch to the cloth grocery bags, because they are expensive and stupid looking. I’m not quite sure that that is in fact hypocrisy.

Feel free to chime in on this one.

This topic is brought on because I am reading unChristian so far, a great book by the way.

This Is Probably Too Heavy to Blog About

Have you ever just lain prostrate in the floor before God and cried over your sin?

Recently I found myself doing so. I was just weeping, because I know that my sin is offensive to a Holy God and slaps Him in his face. I sometimes feel as if Jesus wasted his sacrifice on me. That is really not what this post is about. I just wanted to get that off my chest. (And, really, what better way to do so than in a public forum where literally anyone in the world can read it.) I also wondered of that makes me a freak. Am I the only one who does that, and does it mean that I don’t trust in God’s forgiveness, or that Jesus died for all of my sin?

This post is a post about something that has been on my mind lately. This is actually only a lead up to that post as I think about it further.

This post is one of those that is begging for comments. (I wish I didn’t check my stupid stats every day, but I do.) Here is my question. The other night, I was crying over my sin. And most often when I find myself in this situation, I find that my mind goes to 1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. This verse is comforting and reassuring. However on this night my mind went to an old hymn. (written 1772)

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day; And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

What an awesome and reassuring song!

Here’s my question, especially for those of you who don’t go to churches that sing old hymns, or rarely sing old hymns. What song goes through your head in these times of trouble? Right off the top of my head, here's another situation when I found the words of a hymn very comforting. if I think of others I'll add it later.

After the death of a Christian brother I was deeply sad, and the only song that filled my mind was When We All Get To Heaven. (written 1898 this would have been a Contemporary Christian hit for my great-grandmother)

I'll lighten it up the rest of the week :-)