What Happens in Vegas??

What kind of world are we living in?

Young people are convinced that it is okay to cheat, lie, steal, speed, etc., as long as they do not get caught. Adults justify and rationalize all kinds of evil behavior by re-assuring themselves, and others, that no one gets hurt. We accept drug and alcohol use, gambling, smoking, prostitution, pornography and other vices because we believe that they are victimless crimes. And one of the most prevalent advertising slogans in America encourages drunken reveling and debauchery by proclaiming, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

My first problem with this idea is that it is encouraging me to do something that I know that I should not do. "Live it up!" "Go for the gusto!" "Carpe diem!" Life is short, I can rationalize, I should be able to do whatever I want. No matter what. I am entitled. This sense of entitlement has gotten many good boys and girls into a lot of trouble.

The second problem I have with this slogan, and the whole way of thinking, is that it encourages me to keep secrets. This is the philosophy behind the feeling that says, if I don't get caught, it's not wrong. But that is very wrong. If a tree falls in the woods, it makes a sound. It does not matter whether or not anyone is there to hear. There is a sound! If I do something wrong, it is wrong! The effects of my actions on others is immaterial. Sin is sin.

But, let's take this one step further. The secrecy inherent in this motto, leads me to dishonesty. The spouse, parent, child, employer, pastor that I am trying to keep this information from are hurt. In fact, when I keep secrets from the people who love me, it limits their ability to love. They can love me more fully when they know all my needs, desires, sins and activities.

Keeping small secrets today will only lead to committing greater infractions and keeping bigger secrets in the future. Stumbling a little now can very easily lead to stumbling a lot later on.

I am probably being a little too harsh. After all, Las Vegas seems to be proud of it's designation as sin city. However, we should be careful about adopting this carefree, wide open attitude and philosophy in our own lives.

What I Believe About Sin

Well, here it is. We knew we could not avoid sin forever, so now it is time to face the music. Sin is an important part (albeit a negative part) of Christianity.

• Every human is born with Original Sin. Original Sin is the desire that each of us has to sin. We inherit this problem from Adam and Eve who blessed us with this gift. Our natural tendency is to be selfish, to take care of ourselves. And although self-preservation is not necessarily bad, the kernel of every sin ever committed is selfishness. We lie because we are ashamed of the truth, or we do not want to get caught. I cheat because I want more stuff. The Bible teaches that every person is a victim of Original Sin (Romans 3.10, 23). It is one thing that we all have in common.
• Because our nature is to sin, we do sin. Without a strong commitment to avoid sin, some accountability from someone helping me out, and help from God I will continue to sin, often without remorse.
• Sins of commission are the things that we are not supposed to do, but do anyway. In the Ten Commandments there are several “Thou shalt nots.” When we know that we are not to do something (kill, steal, covet…), and yet we do it, we are guilty of a sin of commission.
• Sins of omission are those things that we should be doing, but do not. A simple way to think about this would be that when God wants me to do something and I fail to do it that is a sin of omission. Some examples include prayer, good deeds, church attendance, Bible reading.
• All of our sins can be forgiven. The good news of the Bible, and all of the Christian faith, is that no matter what you or I have done, we can be forgiven by God. In fact, I believe that he wants to forgive us. The Bible teaches that God will forgive us no matter what (1 John 1.9).
  

Of course this is not all that can be said about sin. For example, I do not believe that God holds degrees of sin. One sin is not worse than another, at least in God’s eyes. The only unforgivable sin is dying before you have asked God to forgive your sins.

Some people have complained that I am too easy on sin. The message that I teach, preach and write about is all about love, grace and acceptance, the complaint goes. People do not realize the depth of their sin or the universality of their depravity. Let me conclude by saying that I emphasize the grace of God, because I believe that God emphasizes grace. The New Testament, especially the gospels, is all about reconciliation, forgiveness, new beginnings and grace. That is good news for all of us. I am excited about that.

Spectator Sports, Cheaters and Original Sin

I have never been athletic, but I have always been a fan of sports. I love major league baseball and amateur basketball. I was, at one time, the ultimate spectator, a true fanatic of my favorite basketball team and baseball in general. I could talk for hours about the joy of being in a big league ballpark. The huge stands, the weird food, the huge, beautifully manicured field, the men who excelled at a boy's game were all too good for me.

My basketball team had a bully for a coach, but he was on the right track. He played fair. His players played hard. They gave the game their all. They won a lot more than they lost. The players were smart and articulate. They studied hard and attended class. If they did not, they were benched, or worse. Best of all, my team did not cheat.

But then the world changed. It must have. That is the only explanation for the cataclysm that followed. Baseball players began hitting home runs in bunches. Way more than ever before. It was unprecedented. Records were falling right and left. One season two very likable players hit 69 and 66 home runs, both breaking the previous record of 61. What fun! But then too soon, another player, one that was not so likable, hit even more. 73 home runs in one year. Something had to be wrong. We all thought it. And then we began to question all the records, all the players, everything.

The coach of my basketball team lost his job. He was replaced with a barely competent basketball man. Then he was replaced by a fine coach, but get this, a cheater. Heaven forbid! We do not allow cheaters on our team. We are against cheaters. We do not cheat. Until now.

And the baseball players? Last week we learned that they cheat too. They are all cheaters. Dozens of our heroes have taken drugs so that they can grow bigger, run faster and hit the ball farther. How can I be a sports fan when they all cheat?

But what have we learned from all this? Can we grow from this experience?

All people are bad! This is a foundational doctrine of Christianity. Theologically we call it Original Sin. This doctrine believes that every person has the tendency, even the desire, to sin. We all want to do what is wrong. If that seems difficult for you, think about this:

• Look out for number 1.
• Watch your back.
• You only go around once, so go for the gusto.
• You deserve a break today.
• I'm too sexy for my shirt.

All of these are expressions of the practical side of Original Sin. Every human is selfish. We are born selfish. We are always looking out for our own interests and desires. I believe that sin equals selfishness. That is, every sin that you or I commit, we commit simply because we are selfish. This is why Jesus taught the value of looking out for your neighbor and loving others. It is hard to be selfish when I am loving someone else.

What is happening in sports- and baseball and basketball are no different than all other competitive sports- is a manifestation of the reality of sin. So, do we condemn these players and coaches, or do we pray for them?

Saul's Stumbles

The story of King Saul in the Bible is fascinating and terrible. It is fascinating in much the same way a television soap opera is. The story is filled with beautiful people who have lots of advantages. But it is terrible in that those beautiful people keep making mistakes. Saul's mistakes cost him is family, his throne and his life.

You need to know, first of all, that Saul was the first King of Israel. The people had clamored for a king, and God finally obliged them with Saul. King Saul's reign was initially marked with success, growth and faithfulness to God. But ultimately, paranoia, power and distraction caused Saul to lose sight of the God who put him on the throne to begin with. There are at least eight mistakes that Saul made.

• Saul made an unlawful sacrifice (1 Samuel 13.9-10). Saul grew impatient waiting for Samuel, who was the priest, to arrive to make a sacrifice. It is an instance of Saul believing himself above God's established leadership in the priesthood.
• Saul did not kill the Amalekite King, Agag (1 Samuel 15.9). Although God had given explicit orders to destroy the people and possessions of Amalek completely, Saul did not. This is a certain sign of disobedience to the law of God.
• Saul made a rash order for his people (1 Samuel 14.24ff). The story is long and a little complicated, but the basics are this; Saul ordered his people to fast until they gained victory over the Philistines. Jonathan, his beloved son, was not aware of the command and ate. In this instance, Saul showed a lack of reason and a self-will that was unacceptable to God.
• Saul made a monument to himself (1 Samuel 15.12). Saul was so full of himself that he did what so many other kings before and after have done. He began to believe that he was invincible. As such he built himself a monument so that he would be remembered. This is anathema to the God of the humble.
• Saul opened himself to various kinds of spirits (1 Samuel 16.14). It may be a natural consequence of disobedience and self-exaltation, but when a person rejects God, he opens himself up to other powers. Saul became oppressed (maybe possessed?) by demons.
• Saul lost his faith in God (1 Samuel 17.11). In the story of David and Goliath we often focus on the faith of the young boy. David believed that God had called him and would deliver himself and all Israel from the giant. The contrast that is often overlooked is that Saul, the King, the chosen one of God, was filled with fear. 2 Timothy 1.7 reminds us that fear cannot come from God.
• Saul became jealous of David (1 Samuel 18.7-9). Rather than celebrate the fact that God was working in David's life, Saul chose to be jealous and bitter. How sad for him that he could not enjoy and be blessed by God's obvious blessing on another.
• Saul was left by the Lord (1 Samuel 18.12). One of the saddest thoughts of any life is that God could leave. Saul had been disobedient for too long, he had neglected his faith too many times. The blessing of God was gone forever.

The problem for most of us is that we can see ourselves in the mistakes that Saul made. Maybe we have decided that the way God wants us to worship doesn't 'feel' good to us. Perhaps we have been disobedient, or have thought too highly of ourselves. It could be that we are jealous of the work of God in the life of another. Whatever the situation, it is time that we wake up and return to God. Do not become the next in a long line of spiritual "Sauls."

How to think like a Christian about sin and sinning

Life is complicated. There are so many ideas, philosophies and temptations thrown at us all the time. It is no wonder that many Christians fall into sin at various points. We lie. We cheat. We steal. We gossip. We use pornography. We use illegal drugs. We have extra-marital sex. We lust. We envy. (If I have not included your particular sin, please feel free to include it now.) The point is we are bad. We are nasty. We sin!!

So why is it that we Christians are so quick to judge someone else? Why are we so willing to point our fingers at someone else’s sin?

Maybe it makes us feel better. We can point out how someone else has failed so that our sin does not seem so bad. We can emphasize our neighbor’s abortion while justifying our own apathy toward the genocide in Darfur. I cannot feel too awful about my sin while I am castigating someone else for their’s.

Maybe while I am pointing at someone else, no one will notice that I have sin. It is a diversion tactic. If I make a stink about the sexual sins of my homosexual co-worker, perhaps no one will notice my flirtations with my best friend’s wife. If I can make another person’s sexual sin worse than mine, no one will care anyway.

But isn’t that all wrong. There is nothing in the Bible that would make me think that one sin is worse than another. When we say that divorce, or abortion, or homosexuality (interesting that these are all sex-related sins) is worse than our disregard for the homeless, the hurting or the hungry, we do a disservice to the gospel of grace.

I believe that all sins are sins. I refuse to go soft on homosexual practice, abortion or divorce. But at the same time, I refuse to believe that any of these should occupy more of my time or energy than workplace gossip. It is impossible, in biblical or Christian terms, to justify any sin. It does not matter how ‘serious’ or ‘minor.’

Finally, let me say something about sinners. I am one. You are one as well. The Bible teaches that all people are sinners (Romans 3.10, 23). But, God’s Word also teaches that all people are loved by God (John 3.16). You see, there is no sin that is so great that God cannot and will not forgive it.

So what should we do? First of all, let us renew our commitment to God’s holiness in our own lives. Whatever tempts you the most, offer it to God. Do not allow it any place in your life any more. Let us turn from sinning. Secondly, let us continue to speak out and stand up against all sin. If gossip is sin, then we must not tolerate it in our lives. And finally, we must love the people that Jesus loves. It is too easy to demonize those people who are in sin. I must remember that Jesus loves them just as much as he loves me. We must love all people. We must love sinners while hating sin.