Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, July 31, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This makes it sound like sin comes to us externally. And maybe that’s true in some ways. We are all products of our life experience, our genetics, and a host of other environmental circumstances. My innate perfectionism, which I did not choose to have, driven by my anxiety disorder, which I also did not choose to have, led me to try to run the entire universe in order to feel okay in the world (because, you know, God was busy doing way more important things). So that essence of sin, which is turning inward to self, was perhaps thrust upon me by circumstances beyond my control.
And yet.
The exercise of trying to determine the origin of sin is kind of pointless, because we can’t go back and reverse the past, edit our genetic makeup, or magically transport ourselves into a better environment. We are who we are in the here and now and, I’m sorry to say, our sin is our own problem to deal with.
When we are in communication with God, through regular spiritual practices (whatever that looks like for you and anyone else), we can allow ourselves to be protected from the world’s crushing pressure to turn inward and be sinful. We can practice loving and serving others, because we know it is God’s will for us and God will help us do it. We can turn over to God all the things we can’t control (which, let’s face it, is pretty much everything) and turn outward from our insatiable need for security.
Simple, yes. Easy? No. But remember that we are born of God, and while I disagree with the writer of 1 John that this renders us free of sin, it does allow us to open ourselves to God’s protection and care, and inspiration in the hard work of loving our neighbors.
Do I blame my upbringing or circumstances for my misguided choices or bad behavior?
