This is just a little something I had to write for American Lit once again...its nothing too groundbreaking or brilliant, but it might be worth a quick read ;p. let me know what you think!
Sin is designed for separation. That is its purpose. Sin is that which separates us from being in total and complete communion with our perfect Creator while on this earth, and it is that which separates us from all that is good. Sin is the opposite of freedom—it is slavery. Sin is weight.
In today’s culture, sin is often classified in many, often contradictory, ways. Some say the action is what matters—stealing, lying, cheating, coveting, etc. Others say the intentions behind such actions are what determine their sinfulness or righteousness. Even those who wouldn’t label certain things as “sinful” or “righteous” still have some way of differentiating “right” and “wrong”. True sin, however, begins someplace far deeper than our mere actions or even our intentions; sin is in our very nature as humans.
The prophet Ezra spoke of sin in the Old Testament while passionately crying out to God on behalf of his nation, Israel. He says, “Here we are before You in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in Your presence” (Ezra 9:15 NIV). Ezra had this basic foundational understanding of sin, in that it is what prevents us from entering into the presence of God without shame. For mankind, this all began with what is widely known as the “original sin of Adam” or “the Fall of Man” found in the book of Genesis. In this event, the very first humans created by God chose to believe the lie that something other than God could make them whole, and they disobeyed Him as a result. Their perfect fellowship with God was then broken, and because of this separation, shame and guilt entered the conscience of man, and so began the cycle of sin and separation that is the very condition into which mankind has been born ever since.
It may be strange to some to consider sin in this way—so prevalent in the hearts of men—especially to one who may argue that all that God created was good. Sin, however, is not necessarily the “opposite” of good or of God’s creation, but is rather the perversion of it. C.S. Lewis states it plainly when he says “Badness is only spoiled goodness”. Sinning is not simply breaking some set of rules that would be no fun to follow in the first place. To sin is to take something created by God for the purpose of goodness or beauty or delight or freedom, and distort it until its countenance is so that it could not ever be identified with such pure and holy intentions. To sin is to deny oneself of the greater blessing intended to come with the original, untwisted form of the action or ideal, and pay the cost of separation from truth and light for a more darkened, bitter, and temporary taste of false pleasure.
Sin hinders us. It is what restricts our potential and keeps us from always existing in the great and divine purpose God intends for our lives. Sin is what separates us from so much good in ways both physical and spiritual. However, it does not and cannot completely separate us from the love of our wonderful and divine Creator. God expresses this truth through the prophet Joel in the Old Testament when He says, “…turn and keep on coming to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, until every hindrance is removed and the broken fellowship is restored. Rend your hearts and not your garments and return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness…” (Joel 2: 12-13).
To put it quite simply, sin is the lie formulated to break down and break apart those who God, in His truth, is so zealous to love and restore.
