Don’t be too downcast when you fall into sin
(23) All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, (24) but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus.
So reads Romans 3:23–24 (CEB), a pertinent passage for the season of Lent, as now is a time for us to (among other things) confess our many sins to God and repent of them.
And let’s not pretend to be people we aren’t; you, me, him, her, them, we all have a multitude of sins to confess. All of us. There is not one human on the face of this planet who’s perfect, everyone knows that. Imperfection is part of the human condition, and imperfection means sin. We all do something wrong, just about every day for most of us. And we all know it.
These sins can take various forms, from minor little ones that your conscience barely takes note of, to more significant things that even give you pause before you do them. Some we’re aware of committing, others we might commit unknowingly and therefore habitually.
Why Are We so Sinful?
Why are things like this? For sins committed with the intention of gaining an advantage for yourself, for example, some might say it’s human nature to be looking out for our own self-interests, combined with how our modern society shapes us to act. Some others might say it’s our sinful nature and inclination towards sin as humans, resulting from original sin. Still others might say it’s merely weakness on the sinner’s part (and I don’t agree with that view, personally).
My opinion on this is really quite simple: Sins are delicious. We are souls living within vessels of flesh, and therefore sins of the flesh are so tempting to us. How else can we resist them besides God’s grace? The pleasures of the flesh (which are anything that stimulates any of the senses, food being the most common) are ever-present and perfectly designed to indulge the appetites of our fleshy nature, keeping us focused on the fleshy physical rather than contemplating the spiritual. Because the flesh and the spirit are opposed to each other; indulging one weakens the other (Galatians 5:17).
Now just because something is delicious or pleasurable doesn’t mean we must indulge in it. Although we will never be free of…
