Article 7: Sin - The elephant in the room

We know from scripture that creation was made good and we know that human beings were created for purpose. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before Adam and Eve got distracted from their purpose and sin entered the picture. In the process, as Romans 3:9-18 reminds us, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Though not pleasant, this is a significant and important component of our faith that must be considered. It is the focus of Article 7:Sin, the next of our articles to reflect on.

Traditionally, the church and faithful people have done a very good job of naming sin whether it be the "7 deadly sins" or the breaking of the 10 commandments. We have become experts on identifying these sins and pointing them out in other people. What we have not done such a good job at is confessing our own sins and recognizing the target of our resistance against sin. These are the elephants in the room if you will.

As Christ instructs us in Matthew 7:1-5, we first need to address the sin within our own lives before we will be able to address the sin in the lives of others. Further more as Ephesians 6:10-12 reminds us, our battle is not with flesh and blood but rather with powers and principalities, the spiritual forces. Our efforts to purify others are often misdirected attacks on the other when we should be focusing on ourselves and the source of sinfulness.

And this is the work that Isaiah 1:12-17 calls us to. We are called to cleanse ourselves of unrighteous and to work against the evils of the powers of this world. Our ability to name sin is important, but what we do with the is equally if not more important. We must work against the sin in our own lives and challenge the efforts of the powers and principalities that prey on the weak and the lost. We must come along side those who struggle, sharing with them the love or Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome that which creates barriers in their lives. If we are able to address the elephant in the room, we shine the light of Christ into our lives and that light will then spread through us to the world.