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Why is sin so bad? Have you ever thought about that? In a technical sense, all “sinning” really means is “missing the mark.” Ok. So you missed the mark. We all do. We punch a puppy, we ask forgiveness, we move on. What’s the biggie? Why is God so obsessed with sin? Why not just let us do what we want, and then forgive us all in the end?
Perhaps we view God’s attitude toward sin the wrong way. It seems that more often we think “ok, here’s the stuff I can’t do or God will be mad at me. I know I should please Him, so I’m gonna work real hard not to do these things, even though it sure would be nice to try it once in a while.” And so we sit and squirm under God’s almighty thumb, and look longingly at all the lucky sinners out there whooping it up.
I’LL HUFF AND I’LL PUFF
But God didn’t set up a “sin test” for us to see if we can measure up. Sin is not something that God created; it’s something we created. Sin is us saying “I’m going to do it my way, not yours.” God didn’t invent sin, he simply describes it and tells us what the consequences will be. The reason God talks about sin so much is because we, quite frankly, sin so much. And God knows what will happen if that sin is allowed to run its course.
Isaiah 64 says “like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Sin is like a hurricane; it destroys anything in its path. You can stand outside on the edges of a hurricane, and it might even be a little a exciting for a while. But once it reaches its full strength, it will sweep you away, and not all your effort and good intentions will stop it. The only chance you have at that point is to find shelter; to get somewhere with a firm foundation and solid walls. Those walls keep you constrained, for sure, but that constraint is your safety.
GUARDIAN, NOT GUARD
All that God does is because He loves us. The reason God hates sin so much isn’t because of what it does to Him (making Him angry), but because of what it does to us (destroys our life). The reason sin is such a big deal to God is the same reason that a bonfire is such a big deal to a mother of a toddler. He knows that the pretty flames will attract His children; we don’t understand the danger, all we see is the excitement. Our viewpoint should be to see God as our protector and guardian, rather than as a prison guard that’s just checking to make sure we follow all the rules.
So He warns us. Repeatedly, over and over throughout the Bible. He put Himself in front of the fire, so that it will burn Him instead of us. And if we push around Him and jump in the fire anyway, He reaches in and pulls us out and gives us a way to be healed. That’s how God deals with sin. That’s the kind of love God is.
How do you view sin?
