When is the last time you sinned? Today? Yesterday? In the last 5 minutes? While the question is simple, the answer might not be so easy. We don’t want to sin, do the wrong thing, make a bad choice, hurt someone in some way, but we do. And the consequences of our actions may not only adversely effect others but ourselves as well. Yet it can be hard to put a finger on sin, unless we have stolen something or cheated on a test or committed adultery or some other obviously culpable offense.
Yes, we know that we sin, yet, who among us would think of hurting God? Sinning against God? Violating God? While we may have very different images of God, still that is almost unthinkable. We don’t want to work against God, however we may conceive of God.
In Psalm 51, there is a phrase, “Against you, you alone, have I sinned. . .” The Psalmist is addressing God. The implication is that all sin is against God. While at first that may sound drastic, with deeper thought, maybe we can see the insight.
Our tradition tells us that all human beings are created in the image of God. We bear God within us. So, a wrong to another person, is a wrong to the divine image within that person. A sin against God. A wrong to ourselves, as bearers of the divine imprint, is, again, a sin against God. This hearkens back to Jesus’ teaching, that whatever you have done to the least of these, you have done unto me. While the specific context refers to good deeds, such as visiting the sick and feeding the hungry, we can infer the reverse. That whatever harm we do to another, directly or indirectly, we do to Jesus. So it is not as farfetched as it first sounds that all sin is against God.
Our tradition also teaches that God is responsible for Creation. The earth, the universe, the cosmos, all that is, is the self-expression of God. So to abuse or misuse or harm any part of Creation can be seen as a sin against God. In addition, to harm the earth is to diminish the ability of the earth to provide for all of our neighbors. It is to deprive others of clean water, safe air, arable land to grow food, etc. So violating the earth can be seen as a way that we ultimately harm ourselves and our neighbors. Sinning against God, again.
This brings us back to the central teaching of Judaism and Christianity. Love of God and love of neighbor. And the golden rule, a teaching in every major world religion: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Anything less is a sin against God.
So this idea that all sin is against God, is not as drastic and farfetched as it first sounds. Instead of rejecting this idea as hyperbole or ancient poeticism, I hope it will speak to us in fresh ways about our connections to all of life, to one another, and to the sacred.
Prayer
We do not want to sin. We do not want to cause harm. We do not want to defy God. May we choose to use the freedom of our faith to see the implications of all of our behaviors, our choices, our lives. This unflinching honesty will lead us to seek the reconciliation we need from God and one another, so that we can truly be free. Amen.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 