Sin is a word not often thought about
seriously in our time. Neal Plantinga writes, “Nowadays, the accusation you have sinned is often said with a
grin, and with a tone that signals an inside joke…” Sin has become a word for
hot vacation spots (Las Vegas is Sin City) and dessert menus: “Peanut Butter
Binge and Chocolate Challenge are sinful; lying is not. The new measure for sin
is calorie.”
But sin is
the deadliest force because it takes us out of the flow of the Spirit. Imagine
the consequences if we did not have a word for cancer or depression. We must
identify and understand that which threatens our ability to flourish, and only
sin can keep us from becoming the person God wants us to become. All other
challenges face us from the outside. Sin works its way inside, strangling our
soul.
-- John Ortberg in The Me I Want to Be
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