“Falling Short of The Glory of God” Did Not Deter Me From Doing My Thing
It was this realization that made me decide to go and sin no more
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No one has to teach a child to lie. Rather, we go to great lengths to teach children to tell the truth. So how does a child learn to lie? They don’t. Sin comes naturally. The Bible explains this better. Humanity is sinful, not just in theory or in practice but by nature. We were born into sin and so sin is part of the very fiber of our being. From generation to generation, the sin nature is passed down.
The Apostle Paul admits that “the trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.” King Solomon said, “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.” King David states, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” The Apostle John perhaps puts it most bluntly: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
Sin is our earthly nature and the body is ruled by it. Even children have this sinful nature. It’s in our blood. We can’t help but sin.
The biblical term “sin” is derived from the Greek word hamartia, an archery term for “to miss the mark” of something. If an arrow doesn’t land in the center of the bullseye, the arrow has “missed the mark. Sin means missing or falling short of a goal, standard, or purpose.
“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” the Bible says, but it was not for this reason that I decided I would go and sin no more.
Consequences of Sin
An old friend texted me wanting us to do something I no longer do. I no longer do it because I know better now. I know it’s not right. “I don't do that anymore. I am taking my walk with God seriously now,” I told him.
“Ah, don’t be so uptight. Enjoy your life. God will forgive you,” he said.
Surely God would forgive me as far as the East is from the West. He has lifted the sentence of condemnation upon us for our sins through the death of Christ. This means we could sin today, repent of them tomorrow and God would have to forgive and save us from hell. Right? If our sins wouldn’t be forgiven, then Christ died for nothing. My friend was right that I would be forgiven but he wasn’t thinking about the whole situation.
How often do people think about consequences before taking an action? They don’t until there are consequences. I think a lot about the consequences of actions these days. Why? Because I am suffering from the consequences of past sins.
Growing up in church and even at home, I often heard that sinning was primarily about God. As in when I sinned I was breaking God’s heart and the punishment for my actions would be eternal damnation in hell but I never had to worry about hell. I would repent before it got to that. But I didn’t grasp the reality that sin is less about what it does to God/going to hell and more about what it does to a person now or later.
Let's say for example a person sleeps around. Right after the act, they could feel remorse and pray for forgiveness. God would surely them but if they got pregnant or contracted a terrible disease or found themselves in a toxic situation, then they would have to live with the consequences of their actions. The one who steals and gets caught may genuinely regret it. God would forgive them if they asked but God could not take away the consequences of their actions. If it was jail time or a criminal record, God couldn't make that go away.
So why then do we say “Sin against God?” Shouldn't it be “Sin against ourselves” when God remains seated on his throne while we suffer the consequences of our sins?
It is the consequences that often follow sin that made me decide I would go and sin no more.
Sinning Against Self
The truth that is not often taught in church and at home is that sin affects our lives far more than it impacts God. If I heard people talk about their own sins and the consequences they face instead of about how sin makes us fall short of the glory of God, I doubt that I would have sinned as much as I did.
As a young adult, I didn’t understand why God wanted us to wait till marriage to have sexual relations. I did it knowing I could always ask for forgiveness later but what I didn’t know was that there could be consequences. When I chose to sin against myself, I didn’t consider that each decision carried weight. The reality of my choices hit hard when I found myself in a difficult situation, facing the challenges of being a parent in a struggling relationship. Now I live with consequences and whenever I face the difficulties that arise from my past choices, it feels like a knife is piercing my heart. God forgave me the first time I asked but the consequences remain.
If I had heard real-life stories of people whose lives had been (almost) ruined by their sins, I would have lived my life carefully. I didn’t live my life very well because I didn’t know any better. For a lack of knowledge, I almost destroyed my life.
I wish the church today would focus more on how sin destroys the individual and less on hell. Sin is much deeper than falling short of the glory of God. It is much deeper than the story of eternal damnation. Sin is personal. It affects the person’s life, destiny, and peace. Sin is a destructive force.
I wish they would teach children today that sin is not just about losing favor with God but about losing our own way. I didn’t understand because I lacked knowledge as a child but as an adult, it is my responsibility to learn why. Why did God warn us against premarital sex?
Unhealthy soul ties, unexpected pregnancies, toxic baby mama/baby daddy dramas, sexually transmitted diseases/demons (STDs), mental health problems, depression, being sick and tired of being sick and tired of the unfavorable situation, amongst others. God as a parent wasn’t keeping a good thing from us. He only wanted to keep us safe. I understand that now.
As a parent now, whenever I teach my daughter not to do something, like taking a thing out of the store before paying for it, I explain why. It is the knowledge of the “why” that gives her the power not to do it when she is tempted to. The ultimate“why” is that she will fall short of the glory of God, yes, but as a child, she couldn’t care less about that. The “why” that would prompt her to do right is that the alarm might go off and everyone in the store will look at her and think that she stole something and she will be very embarrassed. That’s a consequence no child would want to face but it takes them knowing. Knowledge gives power over sin.
Fight Sin and Win
All humans are born with a sinful nature. We can know what we should not do, and we can even desire to not do it and yet we often find ourselves doing it. As I mentioned earlier, we can’t help it. Sin is in our blood. Our flesh is strong and self-serving, and it wants what it wants. We’re susceptible to temptation and in turn, we’ll likely sin. Because of this, we need God’s strength and power to overcome our sinful nature. We need wisdom and understanding. We must cut off the path that leads to sin.
The Book of Proverbs tells the story of a young man who got involved with a married woman, reaping all the short-lived satisfaction that came with it. Early in the story, we see where he lost the battle. He took the path toward her home. He should never have gone down that path. It was too much temptation to turn back.
Cutting off the path to sin usually prevents us from walking into sin. This can be applied to anything. If alcohol and drugs are causing you to stumble, you have to get them out of your easy reach. If a friend influences you to do things you know are wrong, you may have to cut them off. For me, it involves saying no and setting boundaries with friends who want to do things I no longer do.
“And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.”
Jesus is not being literal when he says to cut off your hand. He’s using hyperbole to make a crucial point: attacking sin at the source. And now that I am thinking deeply about all this, Jesus was not talking about a literal “fire.” He’s talking about feeling the heat. Fire is heat and heat can make one very uncomfortable. Because of my sins I somedays feel the heat. The consequence of sin can make life on earth feel like hell.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit”, and you will not be led down the path of sin.
Overcoming sin is a battle but we have divine help. The Spirit of God takes up residence in us and supplies the power we need to overcome the pull of the sinful nature within us.
We are born into sin but no one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning. I have sin in my blood, but I know better now than to keep living like I did in the past. I am no longer a slave to sin but a servant of righteousness. And now, I hold myself to a certain mark and that’s the mark of God’s perfection. I aim to hit the bullseye and someday make God proud.
