Do you mourn over sin? I don’t mean to ask if you feel bad about your sins as a lot of people do including those who don’t know the Lord. Rather, beyond how sin makes you feel – i.e., lonely, sad, despairing of life, etc. – do you fully grasp how much sin displeases, even upsets God?
I must confess that I’m not always convinced that I look at my personal sins beyond the way that they make me feel. When I do something that I know is wrong, I’m sometimes angry with myself and hating how sin makes me feel. Which in one word is yucky.
I don’t see a problem with disliking how you feel about sin and the effect that it has on you personally, but I do think there is something terribly wrong when we fail to understand how our sin grieves God.
Yes, the Maker of heaven and earth and everything in it has feelings as evidenced throughout scripture. We know that God was sorry that He made man (Genesis 6:6-7), wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), admonished the hardhearted (Isaiah 46:12), and responded in other ways which clearly show Him being upset with His people.
On the other hand, God rejoices over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17), He laughs and scoffs at the wicked (Psalm 2:4), and He is moved when a man like Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge on how to rule over God’s people, rewarding him with all that along with riches and honor (2 Chronicles 1:11-12). In many ways we’re just like God – experiencing a wide variety of emotions.
Now back to sin – we know it is wrong, but do we really hate it? Our culture today makes light of sin, even celebrates it. Right now, a fresh movement is underfoot in California to once again challenge what marriage is all about – the union of one man and one woman in holy matrimony.
Certainly, many unsaved people have rejected what God set forth when He brought together Adam and Eve, thinking that Adam and Steve or Alana and Eve has equal billing in God’s eyes. Others aren’t involved in homosexuality, but they’re fornicating and committing adultery with abandon. One group mocks marriage while the other makes open mockery of marriage – is there a difference? Not really.
How we approach sin is critical to our mastering it (see Genesis 4:6-7). Romans 6 offers a wonderful look at how we should handle sin in that we’re to be dead to it while alive in Christ. Where we were once slaves to sin we’re to be slaves to righteousness. Recognizing this will help us mourn our sin, seeking God’s grace to win the battle and overcome.
“Almighty God, help me to have a holy hatred of sin, recognizing that I need You to help me overcome what besets me. Despair does nothing to remedy the situation, nor do these feelings encourage me to come before You when I need You the most. Give your child godly vision and wisdom to see my sin as you do, responding swiftly to put sin in its place while running to you for a reassuring embrace.”
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