For a believer, sins are the wrong things done in human life and living that are offensive and unpleasing to God. According to the Bible, there are Seven Deadly Sins--The Sin of Pride, The Sin of Envy, The Sin of Lust, the Sin of Wrath, the Sin of Greed, the Sin of Gluttony, and the Sin of Sloth.
A believer must be accountable to God, that is, not doing all the wrong and unrighteous things in life according to the Seven Deadly Sins.
For an unbeliever, sins may be "irrelevant" because God is not present in their lives. But an unbeliever may begin all the wrongdoings as they grow up.
Wrongdoings
What are they?
Say, you and another man sitting close to you were the last two persons at the bar. The man next to you had just paid the bartender who returned with his credit card. Now, you paid the bartender who just left with your credit card. Then, the man left some cash on the table, said goodnight to you, and left the bar.
You
looked at the cash close by. Now, you “pushed” the cash left by the man “a
little bit closer to you.” Then the bartender returned with your credit card, looked
at the cash in front of you, and said: “Thank you.” You responded: “You’re most welcome. Good night.” And you left the bar.
Here are the realities:
- You did not give the bartender any tip.
- The bartender received the same amount of tip.
- With or without your pushing the cash “a little bit closer to you,” the bartender would still have said: “Thank you.”
So, nothing had changed, except the position of the cash.
Here are some questions for reflection:
- Did you do anything wrong? Yes!
- What was wrong with changing the position of the cash? Changing the mind and the perception of the bartender made you feel “respected and important” (the Sin of Pride). And changing her mind is also controlling (the Sin of Lust for Power and Control).
- Were you able to pay the bartender your tip? Most probably yes! Subconsciously, however, you might be envious of the man who had paid his tip so voluntarily (the Sin of Envy). And withholding your tip is also your covetousness (the Sin of Greed).
So, changing the position of the cash has the following implications: falsifying the truth; fostering the ego; fortifying the pride. Worst, it might also initiate your “rationalization” for any future wrongdoing. Given that humans are rational beings, you might have used your “rationalization”—such as “What’s the big deal?”—as your “justification” of your wrongdoings in the future. It is not uncommon for people breaking the law, such as exceeding the speed limit, with the rationalization that “laws are made to be broken, and even lawmakers themselves break the law they’ve created”; for shoplifters with the rationalization that “shoplifting is only a misdemeanor compared to robbing a bank”; for those involved in extramarital activities with the rationalization that even “some pastors and priests are sexually abusive too.”
Unfortunately, wrongdoings not only "compromise" the human conscience but may ultimately "suppress" the conscience
completely, giving an individual the freedom to do whatever that individual wishes
to do to get what he or she wants in life. That is the reality. Without the
presence of their conscience, criminals have no regard for their victims. Have you often compromised your conscience throughout your life on earth?
So, what seemed trivial and insignificant to you even without involving any victim—such as changing the position of the cash—might have been the origin of your committing sin and wrongdoings on earth.
How and why?
Like everybody else, you are living in your flesh. That means you have both a conscious mind and a subconscious mind: your conscious mind with its clarity of thinking might know what is right and wrong, while your subconscious mind with its misbeliefs, myths, and untruths dominates your conscious mind.
Worse, one minor sin might often lead to another and yet another more serious one. Your freedom of choices might have been held hostage by its bondage to your flesh in your corrupted body, the origin of the wants and desires of your thinking mind. Remember: It is the subconsciousness of your thinking mind that ultimately changes the freedom of your choices. No matter how soft or strong your bondage might have been, one bondage always led to another. The more bondages you might have, the greater their control on the freedom of your choices and decisions, and the more wrongdoings you might subsequently do.
The sins of humans
are their failures in choosing their right actions, their thoughts, and their
emotions to love God and to love others. Their failures in choices lead to
their misbehaviors and wrong judgments, with their self-deceptions and
self-illusions stored in their subconscious minds living in their flesh.
The truth is that all humans, without any
exception, commit sins every day because they all rely on their minds to
tell them how to think, what to do, and when to act or
react according to their thoughts.
Different Perspectives of Sins
Repeating Sins
Humans always repeat
their sins, which are their failures to love God and to love others around, even
though they might have already received their forgiveness from God. Satan, the Devil, is an expert in creating doubts
in human minds, causing them to question in their hearts if God had
“really” forgiven them.
Accepting Sins
Many humans have accepted sins as social norms, such as watching pornography on the Internet, indulging in gambling, or even lining up to buy their lottery tickets. Acceptance is based on “everybody is doing it” and “it’s not against the law.”
Rationalizing Sins
Self-justification is finding “excuses” for committing sins, such as “pointing fingers” at the sins and crimes committed by those distinguished celebrities around to "justify" their own commitment of sins.
Rebuking Sins
Rebuking sins can surprisingly lead to committing more sins, instead of stopping and restraining sins.
As an illustration, In Houston, Texas, a man using his gun robbed the diners in a
taqueria restaurant. The robber was on the verge of leaving that restaurant
when he was shot 9 times by a vigilante diner, who then helped the diners
recover their money robbed at that Houston taqueria restaurant before
disappearing. The police later discovered that the suspect’s weapon was only a
“plastic gun.” Texas police began searching for that vigilante diner, with that
“you-took-my-money-I-took-your-life”
mindset of rebuking sins.
Indeed, many in the process of rebuking sins commit their own sins. That is a strong testament to the prevalence of sins in everyday life and living, such as a woman was shot dead inside a car that had been driven into the wrong driveway.
Rejecting Sins
Rejecting God and
refusing the offer of forgiveness and the offer of a new life is a major mortal
sin in humans. Unfortunately, many are vulnerable to rejecting not only God but
also their loved ones.
Enjoying Sins
Nowadays, there are many who indulge in sins, such as serial killers and rapists, because they derive excitement, pleasures, and smartness from their sins.
To illustrate, John Wayne Gacy, who grew up in an abusive family, became a notorious American serial killer and rapist, who had killed more than 33 young men and boys at his home in Norwood Park Township in Illinois. He was also known as the “Killer Clown” who had many public performances as a clown to attract young children and to lure them into his home to be victimized and then buried in the crawl space of his home. Eventually, Gacy was caught by the police, prosecuted, and sentenced to death in 1980. His execution took place in 1984. After four years in prison, Gacy showed that he had "enjoyed" his killings with no remorse. His final words on the day of his execution were: “Kiss my ass!”
Stephen Lau
Author: YOUR DEATH AND YOUR DESTINATION
Author: THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS AND THE TAO by Nora Wise (Stephen Lau's pen-name)
Denying Sins
Many humans, living in a sinful world, simply deny their committing sins with no victims, such as stealing
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