Sin is anything that misses the mark of God’s perfect, divine standards, like a bullseye on a target where God’s standards are represented by the innermost circle. What we say, do and think can be sinful.
Humans have one BIG thing in common: we are all sinners. Romans (3:23, NLT) says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Sin ALWAYS has bad consequences, and if we think otherwise, we are only fooling ourselves.
Sin was introduced into the world when the first man Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. His disobedience set off a chain reaction of sin that his descendants inherited – that’s us!
We commit willful sins when we know what we are doing is wrong – like evil speaking – but we choose to do it anyway. We can also sin in our minds – like having mean thoughts about others. Still further, there are sins we may not even realize we have committed – like accidentally hurting someone’s feelings.
If we know sin brings unhappiness, why don’t we just stop sinning? Because from the moment we were born we inherited sin from Adam. Not only that, but Satan and his fallen angels make things worse by trying to tempt humankind to do things Satan’s evil way instead of God’s righteous way.
So, if we can’t stop sinning, should we just give up? Never! When we sin, we feel further away from God, so we should try hard to do better each day and pray for forgiveness when we make mistakes, both from God and the people we hurt.
There is a clever saying: you can’t stop birds from flying over your head, but you CAN stop them from making a nest in your hair. It sounds funny, but the lesson is good: sin is always around us, but that doesn’t mean we have to actively engage in it and let it take root in our thoughts and actions.
Our sinful situation makes us appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made by dying for all of humankind. His death paid a ransom for Adam’s sin, providing a future symbolic “covering” for all of resurrected humankind in God’s future kingdom. While under this covering, people will be given every opportunity to learn to live righteously WITHOUT Adam’s inherited sin and WITHOUT Satan’s evil influence. Each person will be responsible for their own actions – they won’t be able to blame Adam or others for their sins. (see Jeremiah 31:29)
It’s easy to get discouraged sometimes, but God knows our low status and that we are trying to do our best. This Psalm (103:14, NIV) says it beautifully: “…for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.”
So, what is sin and what can we do about it? Sin is anything that misses the mark of God’s perfect, divine standards. Every day, let’s do our best to not sin. Let’s pray for forgiveness in Jesus’ name when we do. If we try hard, we can live up to the potential that God sees in all of us.