Sin is not a private matter.

Posted on Mon, Mar 2, 2009

God would have us to be our brothers’ keepers. So, we must strive daily, by his grace, to obey him. However, doing this habitually is not easy without the help of God himself. We must be aware that we live for God; we must know also that we are, eventually, accountable to God for all our actions. This kind of attitude springs from having the fear of God, for which we should crave and ask.

It is not a private matter to sin. No one in this world lives alone and can survive in isolation. When we sin, a spiral circle of evil is created which spins and spreads more evils. The evils thus generated spill on to affect others. Conversely, when we do well, we sow good seed which germinates and brings forth enjoyable fruits to us and others around us. God has created us to be interdependent and not independent of each other in this world.  You can see this interdependence in families, governments, businesses - every where. Consider a man who commits a crime and is shut up in prison. As he is alienated from the free society to suffer the consequences of his action in jail, his innocent family also, indirectly, bears the brunt of his criminality; sometimes with more serious devastation. Governments or employers alike with wrong policy decisions drag their citizens and employees respectively into hardship for their errors.

No one lives and dies to himself. Sadly, in our society today, there are many who believe that they are their own. So they conclude that they must live wholly, purely and squarely to themselves and owe no one anything. This kind of thinking is illusion. We owe our existence on earth to God who is our creator.  “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord… every one of us shall give account of himself to God” 1.

God would have us to be our brothers’ keepers. So, we must strive daily, by his grace, to obey him.  However, doing this habitually is not easy without the help of God himself. We must be aware that we live for God; we must know also that we are, eventually, accountable to God for all our actions. This kind of attitude springs from having the fear of God, for which we should crave and ask.

Wherever we are, we can be a positive influence to others. Stop and think! Should we not constantly consider the effects of our decisions on others before we make them, whether it is our choice to sin or do good?  As we have the opportunity, should we not be doing good to all people? The Scripture says: “Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.” 2.

Bible References: 1. Roman 14:8-12; 2. Galatians 6:7.

 

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