On the nature of sin

An open letter to my friend Nick.

Dear Nick,
While I doubt this will be my only blog, I decided to dedicate a blog to you.  Though we are around the same age, I hope that I can share the small glimmers of wisdom I occasionally receive when I am staring absentmindedly out a window for prolonged periods of time.  It is an open letter because, hey, maybe somebody else can learn something as well.

I decided to start because I was reflecting on something significant today.  As I go forth in my spiritual wanderings in the wilderness of suburbia, I try to read the Bible regularly to see what insight comes to me.  Today, I read Genesis 3:19: "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  This passage caused me to stop for a moment and consider as to whether or not this was in fact the secret to discipleship: a keen awareness of one's own mortality.  Being aware of the fact that you will one day die has a strange impact on one's sense of self if you can learn to embrace it.  For instance, being aware of your mortality can be humbling.  It is a reminder that life is short, that you're time on earth is short.  It is a reminder that you are not immortal.  Effectively, it reminds you that you are not God.

By my reckoning, all sin in the Bible is related to power.  Sin is when you attempt to take away God's power by seizing it for yourself.  For instance, vengeance belongs to God, but for us it is the sin of wrath because we attempt to seize God's power over all human life and justice for ourselves.  When we commit idolatry, we attempt to take away God's power by putting something we control in God's place.  Vanity is when we put ourselves in God's place as a position of honor.  Many sins relate back to this notion of power.  When we exhibit racism and sexism, we take away from God's power to determine the worth and value of persons by taking it for ourselves and devaluing it.  We spite God by attempting to seize power from God, and God is a jealous one.  He doesn't brook nonsense.

So, perhaps the best way to resist sin is to start each day with a slice of humble pie by remembering that you are dust, and to the dust you shall return.  And so shall everyone else.  And so shall everything you build.  What then becomes of consequence are the actions you commit towards God and other persons.  Eternity, in Christianity at least, seems to be about the endless echo of consequences resultant from action.  Resisting sin means respecting the throne of God by bowing humbly rather than foolishly trying to kick him off it.  The way to resist sin is to avoid seizing power and instead seize servanthood- abase yourself before other people.

By remembering that you are dust, you are also inspired to be bolder.  You are encouraged each day to live fully into that day, to be mindful in your interactions with others, and to seek some insight into God's will daily.  My friend, as you go forth in a summer that I know will be packed to the brim not only with work, toil, anxiety, and activity, remind yourself daily of your dusty origins.  That way, everyday will be not just be a precious step forward to your ultimate goals, but a way to understand the journey in itself.

Peace and blankets,
Kyle