This post might seem risky or controversial, but I am just
listing three benefits to our most horrible sins. I am not talking about
playing cards. I am talking about the stuff that people really do feel horrible
about, and habits we would really avoid if we could. I am not even going to list examples because
of the grief I know some people have.
But I wanted to say three things that I think can be extreme benefits of
all our weaknesses that we would give anything not to have, but for some
reason, haven't chosen to give that "anything."
Sin as a reminder of
what has been overcome: I think our failures can be a reminder of just what kind of obstacles and character
weaknesses we have defeated already in our lives. Failing sometimes can help us
and others see the big picture that all the good stuff did come at a great risk
and cost. The success and even survival
that we do have was never guaranteed, and we might have always been right on
the brink of the worst case scenario.
This view gives all righteousness credit for being the miracle that it
is.
Sin as a healing
consolation for other people who could be jealous or ashamed:
In the long run, for most people who have asked God for
mercy and help in this life, it will be very apparent that we are his people
and have tried to be good. And it will be so apparent that anyone who tried to
thwart that mission will be utterly humiliated.
It is a tragedy, but some of our truly terrible sins might be a comfort
for anyone who took the wrong side and whose own weaknesses happened to involve
good people as their target.
Sin as the inevitable
shadow of a lifestyle that actually is heroic:
People will disagree with me, but I think some sins and even
sin habits happen as kind of a flip side for certain ways of life that actually
are mostly righteous and might be part of people most being their true self. An
example I can think of would be someone like a boss of a pizza business who
curses a lot. Well some people don't
curse at all, and that is great, but what I am saying is that if you provide
pizza for hundreds of people every day and are making an honest living like
that, but you can't manage to do it without cursing, then people should see
that cursing as kind of the collateral damage of a life being very well spent
and has a lot of other self control.
I could say more about some of this, but the main thing is
that good people don't like being sinners, and we are sinners. It is part of life and it is not fun. But even the worst of it can sometimes be
seen as a work-related injury in the difficult mission of being a good person.
