Sermonette: Sin hurts those around us

Sin is a concept I don’t enjoy. I know, that’s not very surprising— a pastor who doesn’t enjoy sin. However, my struggle with the concept isn’t what you might assume it is. Obviously, I struggle with it because part of me enjoys sin, and part of me hates it; but that struggle is simple and easy to understand. No, what frequently bothers me about sin is how confused we often are about what actually is sin. The word is thrown around frequently, both in and out of church circles, but I don’t think we usually use it properly. See, “sin” isn’t a synonym for “bad.” “Sin” is simply the choice to go against God’s will. God has guidelines for us, a way to live that is both beneficial to us, and pleasing to him. “Sin” is when we turn off that road. Murder is sin. However, wartime death doesn’t seem to be; but hating each other is. Sin isn’t interchangeable with ‘bad,’ it is specific to choosing to go against what God desires for us.

I say this today because one of my reflections on sin has been the cost on other people. I suspect you can ‘be bad’ and not hurt people around you. However, when we choose to go against God’s plan, inevitably the people around us suffer. Whether we choose to be deceptive and dishonest, leading those around us to not trust us. Or we choose to harbor anger towards those around us, leading us to be short and to treat those around us badly. Or we choose some sort of sexual sin that burns those closest to us. Sin always hurts people around us. Whether we deem it a big or a small sin, eventually it will bite those near us. Our choices will damage innocent people.

Inversely, pursuing righteousness blesses those around us. I know “righteousness” is a big church word, but it simply refers to God making us better people as we draw closer to him. Paul frequently refers to attributes that become more common as people draw closer to God. Things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, etc. These are traits that are nice, but they’re also traits that the people around us appreciate. Coworkers with love are awesome. I’ve worked with people who had joy, and it made my day better whenever they worked with me. People who exude peace, are friends to keep.

So, my point is this: your secret sin, the thing that you struggle with but tell yourself “oh, at least it doesn’t hurt anybody,” trust me. It does hurt someone. Or it will. Seek the Spirit’s aid in handling your sin, now! Spare the casualties of the people around you. Pursue God, and be filled with the attributes that bless those around us. No one is an island. My sin hurts you, and your sin hurts me. Leave it behind and let’s bless each other instead.