You Are in Sin

(Psalms 119:11 KJV) Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Sinning is the most natural thing for a person to do. It is very easy for one to fall prey to this “disease of the soul” by doing wrong, acting wrong or thinking wrong thoughts.

I must confess there was a time when I was a young Christian that I actually thought I was totally sin free. I attended a little Holiness Church that believed in total Sanctification and that avoiding sin was an act of one’s will and good discipline.

Because I loved the Lord so much I learned to walk (in my opinion) on a straight, narrow, disciplined path. However, the older I got the more I realized that my righteousness was little more than filthy rags. I learned that outward sin was the result of sin that had already been committed in one’s heart. Discipline may keep one from carrying out the act, but if one sins in his heart he is already guilty.

This new revelation was not only a shock to my “self-righteous soul,” but it was also embarrassing to discover that I was not nearly as perfect as I thought.

It should be the goal of every believer to live a disciplined life even though discipline alone is not enough…relying on the Lord for His help is our only answer.  Trying to live by discipline alone is like standing on quick sand…one will eventually sink.

No one needs help in reaching their quota of sin and wrong doing…that comes naturally. However, when one is accused of sin when they are innocent…that is a totally different matter.

Perception is a wonderful thing, but when the results of one’s perception turns into unwarranted accusation then that is definitely wrong.

I had a friend who went to the same church with me…and believed he was perfect as well. One day as we two perfect people were driving down the road my friend looked over at me and said, “You are in sin.” He reached that conclusion because I had been laughing and carrying on about something. My happiness was his clue that I had fallen into sin.

Even though I had done nothing wrong my friend was convinced that I had. He was totally serious when he said, “No one is that happy unless they have sinned.”  As a result of his perception he looked at me differently from then on until the day he died.

The fact is “perfect people” (or at least those who think they are perfect) are the most critical people of all because no one else can come up to their standard.

Even though my friend was wrong in his perception of me his intentions were pure.

Father,

My desire is to live a disciplined life and walk on that straight and narrow path even though I know that You are my only answer for holiness. Lord I also desire to show grace and mercy to those who are struggling with some weakness of their flesh by doing wrong, acting wrong or thinking wrong thoughts.

Amen