I heard a great sermon on Confessions (Rob Bell, Mars Hill) and I loved it. I loved it even more when I went to my very close friend and asked if she would be comfortable if I confessed to her some things that were bothering me, and she said she always thought we had the kind of relationship that understood we would confess to each other. I think I'll remember that forever.
BUT Rob Bell (you have to say his name together, never R. Bell, Bell, or Rob, just doesn't sound right) spoke on the need for us to confess. For the last few months I have been thinking on the same question: What is a sin?
Now, if you have the sudden urge to leave a comment setting me straight, please don't. I've thought whatever you have to say already. In fact, if you ever have that overwhelming sense of 'oh, I need to tell them something' based on a blog, facebook post, or myspace bulletin, just don't. That's ignorance on your part. How can you know some one's heart enough to publicly correct them with only a few paragraphs, at most, to go by.
So what is a sin. We obviously have the 10 commandments. So is that our sin list? I remember smashing a Hanson CD when I was younger, and I told all their lovely blonde faces before I did it that I apologized, but if they didn't get me closer to God, they were keeping me from Him, and they must be shattered. Was Hanson a sin? Paul tells Timothy to 'drink a little wine,' but I have heard Christians say consuming alcohol is a sin. Let's not even touch Jesus' drinking of wine, people still say it. So did Jesus and Paul sin? Are those people, and I feel comfortable questioning this issue because I used to be a 'if it alters your perception it's a sin' girl as I drank my caffeinated beverage, sinning? Obviously there have been multiple tests to prove that caffeine does not wake you up or change your person in any way. Is soda a sin? IS CHOCOLATE A SIN? It's something man changes a little, but cocoa beans are natural, right? So if it's natural it's not a sin. Like wine, because grapes and yeast are just things God gave us to enjoy. Is marijuana a sin? Are psychotropic medications a sin? How 'natural' are they?
Unfortunately, there are so many answers, "Christian" answers, "Biblically sound" answers, "worldly" answers, that would allow one to live in any fashion of consumption or avoidance of the mentioned possible sins. Are we convicted by things other than God? Did Christ tell me to destroy my Hanson CD, or did my youth minister, or did Satan?
For the record, there were quite a few Hanson lyrics that parallel the Bible, such as Mmmbop & Ecclesiastes.
So, what am I confessing??? Right now, I'll confess to my ignorance to start. And to gossipping about my friends. I'm acting like I'm concerned or troubled, but I'm just gossipping. And I've been convicted that gossipping is a sin. Phew!
He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. -Proverbs 28:13
That's pretty convicing. I would choose finding mercy over not prospering any day. But I'm still going over and over in my head, what are my sins? What are your sins? Will all my 'sin or no sin' requirements be the same as yours? Can you 'struggle with something' that I feel at liberty to do, or am I justifying my sin? Are there really as many sins as we think there are? Are there more? Or is there a bundle (say...10?) general underlying issues that are the basis to our sin-scales, and all other things just fall under those guidelines..........sheesh! It's a good thing God has all this figured out, now if I could just kick out all those other sounds long enough to hear His answers... :) Praise the Lord, I am free.
