PLGRM

Last time, I shared a core concept from one of my favorite theologians, Paul Tillich: “Where fear and anxiety are present, sin is sure to follow.”

I said:

We are not “sinners” because we are “bad.” We are “sinners” because we are afraid and anxious…

And then we do bad things.

But what are those “bad things”?

We think we “know it when we see it” but – can we be honest – most of the time what we label “sinful” are simply “things we don’t like”?

When I was growing up, the Southern Baptists I ran with didn’t like drinking and dancing and smoking and playing cards and listening to rock-n-roll, too. Folk didn’t like those. These things were sinful. They made folks uncomfortable.

For a lot of my life people have talked about cussing as a sin.

During college, there was a big discussion about “those girls” who didn’t dress modestly, and how they were sinners.

There is an entire section of culture who focuses their mental energy on all kinds of sexual sins. To hear them tell it, what goes on in the bedroom basically determines whether you’re loved by God or not.

Have you ever noticed when you hear a lot of people talking about “Sin” they are almost never talking about things that they do, are a part of, or have any interest in? Most folks define Sin in terms of things they don’t like.

In the denomination I’m a part of, we talk about sin as “the human tendency toward idolatry and tyranny.”

We’ve well covered idolatry here in this space. We already know “idols are what we make them, and they allow us to go on about our lives and consider only ourselves.” When we get anxious and fearful, we – essentially – make up a god who condones everything we think and do.

It might be said that this god or that can affect or control a certain part of life, but the interactions we have with these gods are purely transactional, and these transactions are designed to harness the power of the God. We don’t need the god’s love, only the rain they send. We don’t need to fear this “god” we just need to perform the rituals that have been shown to give us the result we need. And if rituals stop being effective, we only need to find the ones that will be. Our relationships with these false god idols are quid pro quo. In fact, to call whatever interaction we have with these idols, a “relationship” is to vastly overrate it.

The truth about Pooh Bear Jesus, or “How idols work”

I appreciate that the definition of sin involves “idolatry and tyranny.”

If it were only idolatry, well, then, fine. Whatever, honestly. Idolators are really only hurting themselves – which is unfortunately – but to each their own. If they don’t want to know the all-expansive love of God, then I guess that’s on them. I believe they will be worse for it and I absolutely understand why turning from God to an idol is sin. But what are you gonna do? I don’t mean to be flip about this, but I can’t make someone accept God’s love. Bonnie Raitt was right.

But it’s amazing how quickly idolatry turns into tyranny, how quickly we take matters in our own hands and act like we are the boss of the world. It’s not enough to “serve” an idol. We need everyone else to conform to what that idol represents in order to justify our idolatrous delusions.

Have you ever said about someone, or has someone ever said about you, “Boy, they sure think they are the center of the universe, don’t they? They sure think they can do anything they want without consequences?” You know what I’m talking about?

In big ways and in small ways: that’s sin.

But here’s what I really like about the definition: I like the use of the word “tendency.”

To have a tendency is to have an inclination towards something.

To have a tendency is to have a natural preference towards something.

To have a tendency is to generally lean in a particular direction.

Humans have a tendency towards idolatry and tyranny. Being idolatrous and tyrannical is not our default state.

I admit this is a new realization for me. I’ve been a professional Christian for almost 25 years and this just clicked for me. I have spent a lot of my life making the claim that humans are “ten pounds of crap in a five pound bag.” We are nothing but crappy. There is – in and of ourselves – nothing hopeful.

But, boy, was I shortsighted. I have a tendency towards selfish and narcissistic behavior. I have a tendency to be a bully. But I am not, at my core, bad.

I am not “bad.” I am anxious and afraid and I don’t know how to deal with it.

But “Sin” is only part of the problem. “Sin” is only one half of a pair, right?

What about “Evil”?

Next time…