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As I reported last week the Young Adult Reading Group discussed sin for several months. Each meeting they shared their ideas about a topic or two, such as lying on a resume and euthanasia. At the end of the sessions, they wanted to discuss ways for handling sin. My background paper follows. You can check their discussion in the first comment below.

RANDOM THOUGHTS ABOUT HANDLING SIN

1. Remember righteousness is not so much doing what is right as being in the right relationship with other persons. It is more important to deal appropriately with the person in front of you than in taking a proper position about theoretical issues.

2. Jesus is speaking of this when he says the greatest commandment is really two: love God with all your heart, mind, and soul and your neighbor as yourself. When we say this summarizes all of the law, we are going beyond actions to the underlying relationship. So Jesus can say anger is just as bad in some ways as murder.

3. Notice this relationship involves loving three persons: God, neighbor, and yourself. Handling sin begins with loving yourself. If you love yourself in a healthy manner, you are going to be able to deal appropriately with other people as well.

4. This includes trusting Jesus when he proclaims God loves you. Very often it is harder to accept love than to give it.

5. Remember the New Testament defines love as not insisting on your own way and returning good for evil. It always includes special care for the weak. The Last Judgment is based on giving food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger and clothing the naked, caring for the sick and visiting the imprisoned.

6. Handling sin means accepting forgiveness as an essential part of life. Christian life continually offers second chances. Jesus speaks of forgiveness as seventy times seven times. We always need to recover, so we can continue to live for God. Forgiveness is the way to make an enemy a friend. Again, because accepting God’s forgiveness is often more difficult than offering forgiveness to another, it is wise to remember the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

7. In our affluent society we should always be asking, “How much is enough?” Trusting God means we do not need to be endlessly anxious about tomorrow.

8. And finally, we should remember Jesus was especially disgusted with hypocrites and was constantly accused of spending too much time with sinners.

Lutherans acknowledge we all are saints and sinners who must practice repentance daily. To repent is to change our hearts and minds so we are able to change our actions.  The Church has traditionally broken this down into 1) penance- feeling guilt and sorrow, 2) confession- orally acknowledging our sins to another person, 3) absolution- receiving forgiveness from the other person in the name of Jesus, and 4) satisfaction- taking some practical action to express the change.

David Brooks recently reported on polls that show young people do not have the tools to think or act ethically. He seemed surprised when these surveys reported young people react to moral problems according to whether an option makes them feel good or not. .

My response to Brook’s article was “Where have you been?” Any kind of observant social commentator has recognized this for a long, long time. Quite frankly, the young people do not have the tools, because the adults, who haven’t a clue, have never passed any on to them.

My experience is that the young people are more cognizant of their handicap than the adults running our world right now. The Young Adult Reading Group, those in their 20s and 30s who gather at our house every other month, asked to discuss sin. And once they got on the topic they continued for months.

I sent the following paper as a discussion starter, together with a number of links to pertinent articles. As is common with this group, the young people also e-mailed each other links that might contribute to the discussion. You can check their discussion in the first comment here.

  SIN

The Bible is primarily about how God rescues us from the suffering that results from evil. Evil is a broader term than sin. It is anything that causes us pain, unhappiness, or misery. The scriptures never try to explain the cause of all evil but do say we are responsible for sin. We can not excuse ourselves by saying, “The Devil made me do it”.

However, the scriptures do not offer any consistent definition of sin. It is basically doing what God tells us not to do, but the particulars of what this might be change at different times.  Christians turn to Jesus for our interpretation of the Old Testament laws and find he is pretty radical. He says things such as, “Others say do not kill, I say do not be angry; others say love your neighbor, I say love your enemy; others say do not commit adultery, I say do not even look with lust; others say be fair, I say forgive”. We also use Jesus’ life as a standard, confessing with Paul that we all fall short of Christ’s glory. Life often is a struggle with sin, as we confess we constantly are doing exactly what we do not want to do.

Many believe it is difficult to know what the ancient rules mean after 2,000 years. For instance,

1. If technology offers safety from reproduction, why can’t consenting adults engage in sex without making promises of faithfulness? (Do not commit adultery),
2. In a free and affluent society, how do I balance the demands of job, family, church, and personal pleasure? (Observe the Sabbath, Honor father and mother),
3. If the economy depends on spending, why should I regard myself gluttonous and greedy when buying all the latest electronic merchandise? (Do not covet),
4. If a large international corporation engages in practices on the other side of the globe that are regarded as crimes in this country, should I buy their products? (Do not steal),
5. If I contribute to global warming and pollution and if I do not help feed the starving, am I complicit in the deaths of millions?(Do not kill),
6. If names do not have the power the ancients attributed to them, why should I worry about swearing in God’s name ? (Do not take God’s name in vain),
7. If I lie online or stretch the truth in advertising, have I really hurt anyone? (Do not bear false witness),
8. If technology seems to offer repair for any damage, why should I consider the next generation in my decisions? (Do not steal, kill, and covet).

That should be enough to get us started.  So let’s discuss what sin is in our time and place.