Sin

Sin is an offence against God by our thoughts, words, deeds or omissions against the law of God (Catechism of the Catholic Church No113). Sin is all encompassing; it cuts across all human activities. It is not only in words and deeds that we can sin and offend God, our thoughts are also inclusive. Sin reduces our dignity thereby making us to renounce our inheritance of God’s glory. Sin is a barrier between us and God due to the fact that once there is sin, there is separation. This separation deprives us of God’s grace, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23). From the above scriptural passage, we would see that sin is capable of robbing us of our glory. As individuals, we are endowed with God’s glory but as we engage in sin, the glory of God continues to diminish making us to be vulnerable to danger.  God’s glory is like a shield upon our lives, giving us the opportunity to work in dominion as God’s children and that is what we really are. In Romans Chapter 8: 17. It says “Since we are children, we are his heirs, in fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.”  Here, Saint Paul was laying more emphasis on our rights to God’s kingdom as his children. Since God is our father and we are his children, we have access to him through his son our lord Jesus Christ whom he uses as a symbol of reconciliation to his grace. Sin has its end product which is death. Sin has no good plan for man except punishment. “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our lord” (Romans 6: 23). Sin breaks our relationship with God and robs us of the riches we have inherited from God’s kingdom there by making us slaves before God our father.

Furthermore, as human beings we are prone to sin all because of the flesh. That is why it is said; the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41). The weakness of man shows that left to ourselves we can do nothing well. Our strength depends on God’s grace. One thing is to sin and another thing is to realise it on time and ask for grace to stand up again. A typical example of a person that was able to realise his state of sinfulness was king David when he killed Uriah the Hitthe and took his wife. God was not happy so he sent his prophet Nathan to him to inform him that what he has done in the secret was not secret to God. Initially, King David did not know that he was the one that the story illustrated by the prophet was referring to but later when he discovered, he wept bitterly and asked for God’s mercy using Psalm 51, “Have mercy upon me, oh God, according to thy loving kindness; according to thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin…” From the above Psalm we saw how King David humbled himself asking for God’s mercy. He did not deny but admitted his sinful state and asked God to wash him through and through from his sin. He was remorseful of his sinful act and sought mercy from the Lord. As Christians, we should also follow the example of King David and ask for mercy when we have sinned.  When we sin let us admit. If we do not admit the sins we have committed, how will God forgive us? It is not good to wallow in a sinful state of life because we do not know how soon we are going to leave this sinful world. Being in a state of grace helps us to checkmate our ways of life. Sin has nothing to offer us other than pain, death and punishment. That is why we should be careful of how we live our lives.

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Sin has grown so wide that it is not easy to uproot because it has a seed in every heart. Thanks be to God, who has given us grace through our lord Jesus Christ to overcome sin. Sin as an act has its facet in every nook and cranny of the society. The society of today has embraced sin to a level that to some people it has become the order of the day. What is sinful is sinful no matter how the society might have polished it to look normal. It is still what it is, “SIN”.

As human beings, we have committed lots of sins against God in various ways: thoughts, words and deeds. Sin is first conceived in the heart before we carry it out. No one would say he has not sinned because it takes the grace of God to live a sinless life. Individually, we are called by God to always walk with him so that we can share in his grace as children of God. Acknowledgment is the first stage of redemption. Sin is like cancer to the soul of an individual, it gradually pulls it down until it has reached the gate of destruction. Sin puts the soul in the dark even in the broad day light. When one is in the dark he finds it difficult to see because he does not know what is ahead of him. It is the grace of God that brings an individual to the light of God which is the light of the soul. Through it, God often reveals to us his hidden mysteries. As children of God, we are called to be Kings, Princes and Priests of God’s kingdom, but the power of sin has reduced us to the level of a slave. A typical example of what sin can do to us is portrayed in the story of the prodigal son that is found in Luke 15:11-32. Whereby a wealthy father who had two sons felt bad when, after some time, his younger son decided to exhibit his youthful exuberance by looking for fame and prospect without working. The son depended on his father’s wealth and did everything possible to get his inheritance, but unfortunately, his crave for passion and wealth made him engaged in lose living. He was later regarded as a slave and treated with contempt. After some time he realised that he had offended his father and decided to make a turn around. Many of us are like this prodigal son who had offended his father by living a life that is not in conformity to God’s law.  Sin brings one to a wretched state and separates you from sanctifying grace, leaving the soul helpless and vulnerable to death, destruction and damnation.

In conclusion, when we look at sin generally, we would see that it mirrors bondage, enslavement, suffering, pains, separation and death. Sin has nothing to offer anyone; therefore we should try as much as possible to discipline ourselves and conform to the commandment of God so that his grace would shield us from the power of sin. Sin makes us enemies of God and deprives us of our heavenly inheritance. Sin is deadly, beware!

Sr Margret Ogbebor SSMA is a Catholic Nun, working in the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto. She is the Head Teacher of St Martin de Porres Nursery and Primary School Katsina. [email protected]