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Overcoming Sin
The topics which we have treated: sin, punishment, hell, the devil, are not popular topics. They never have been. But they are even more unpopular now than ever. It would be a great tragedy if insanity became the rule and sanity the exception. The sane man would have to prove himself each instant that he was the one who was really sane. He would always be on the defensive. But something like that has happened. The man who believes in a personal God, and who believes that he himself is responsible to God, this man is on the defensive. Some do not take him seriously any more, and look upon him as a victim of psychological disorders, from which he will be released by the proper therapy. To others he is a nuisance, a thorn in their side, like the bearded fanatic walking around with a sandwich board with a notice to repent, for the end of the world is at hand. To others he is a curiosity. They wonder what makes him tick, how he got to be that way. This is especially true of the analysts, whether in the realm of education, sociology, or psychiatry. They are interested in him, but as a case, with a particular kind of abnormality. Perhaps to some he is a threat, a constant reminder of their lost innocence, of the life which they themselves should be leading. He makes them uncomfortable, not by his words but by his very presence. He is constantly witnessing to a vocation to which each one is called, and his presence creates an echo in the tomb of their heart. They want to get out of his presence or silence his witnessing.
It was the poet, T. S. Eliot, who said in one of his poems, "Mankind cannot stand too much reality." This escape from reality characterizes the man who refuses to face up to the fact that he is truly a sinner, that he must change his heart before he can even change his thoughts. It is the fad today to speak of loss of faith, of skepticism, of situation morality. Perhaps it is just today's expression of mankind's perennial tragedy that he cannot stand too much reality. It is too much to face, to say that, before God, I am responsible, responsible for my own actions, and for my life here and hereafter. How often we try to put on an academic level, or just the level of knowledge, what is really a problem of will. We can say that we made a mistake, but we find it hard to say: "I committed a sin." We can say that I am not sure whether we can find out what is right or wrong in this particular case, but we are afraid to say, "I deliberately chose to do what was wrong, to commit a sin against God, myself, and my fellow man." We can say that questions of morality vary from age to age, from people to people, and in this way we try to excuse ourselves from any norm of morality. But we are afraid to say that there is a law of God, that I can know it, and I can choose it or reject it. We can even take refuge in "following my own conscience," which often is a conscience formed not by God's will but by my comfort. Again it seems that dishonesty is the capital sin of the modern world and cowardice runs a close second.
THE CHRISTIAN'S PRIVILEGED POSITION
Ultimately the Christian is to bear witness in his life to the holiness of Christ. He is not simply a pagan obeying the dictates of his reason, nor a Jew obeying the Law. The Christian is in a privileged position. He is united to Christ through Baptism. He has shared in the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. But his privileged position is one which carries with it greater responsibility.
As Paul says in his Letter to the Colossians (3:1-4): "Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God's right hand. Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed-and he is your life-you too will be revealed in all your glory with him."
The Christian is not what he was before his Baptism. He now has a new life. He has the life of the risen Christ within him. A Christian is not simply one who has more obligations than a non-Christian. He is one who has a new capacity to love. Having this new capacity, which comes from his union with Christ, he must show it by a life of holiness. The sinful actions which characterized his life before must have no more place in his life. "That is why you must kill everything in you that belongs only to earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passion, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same thing as worshipping a false god; all this is the sort of behavior that makes God angry. And it is the way in which you used to live when you were surrounded by people doing the same thing, but now you, of all people, must give all these things up: getting angry, being bad-tempered, spitefulness, abusive language and dirty talk; and never tell each other lies. You have stripped off your old behavior with your old self, and you have put on a new self which will progress towards true knowledge the more it is renewed in the image of its creator" (Col. 3:5-10).
"YOU ARE GOD'S CHOSEN RACE..."
But Paul does not stop with telling them that they should get rid of the sinful activity which belonged to their old manner of life; he also tells them how their actions should be enlivened with the spirit of Christ. Their vocation now is to be saints. "You are God's chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed with sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful. Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col. 3:12-17).
The Christian is not one who is preoccupied with sin. He is preoccupied with sanctity. He has a new life, a new vocation, as Paul describes it, a vocation to sanctity. This means he is more sensitive than ever to the actions which compromise his new life, and to the seeds of sin which he bears within himself, through concupiscence. He is the constant witness to mankind, first of all, of God's mercy to all of us, and secondly, to the fact that we must be honest and courageous to acknowledge the fact that we are in need of this mercy, that we are sinners.
The "wise" and the "strong" of the world can hide their foolishness and their cowardice by saying that the Christian is one who is weak and needs the crutch of religion. He can say that the Christian does not have the backbone to face up to the world and its demands, and that he has to take refuge in his religion, in his God of mercy. But the facts are just the opposite. It is the Christian who is honest, the Christian who is courageous. It takes honesty to admit that one is a sinner. It takes courage to admit this before God and others. It takes an awareness of what it means to be a responsible person, and the courage to admit that in the last analysis there is no one else responsible for what I am and what I do except myself. We often follow the line which Adam followed, passing the buck, blaming others, and finding excuses for our actions. He put the blame on Eve, "It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it" (Gen. 3:12). We ourselves blame our parents, our companions, our teachers, the Church and God Himself.
The Christian, then, has an obligation to tell the world about what has happened to the world since the coming of Christ. He has to proclaim the Good News. This is by showing that his own life has been changed through the grace of Christ. It means that grace really has made a difference in his life, and that this can be seen in his actions. His responsibility is a great one. It is to show that Christ really has gained the victory, a victory over the reign of sin and the kingdom of the devil. The Christian shows this by showing that, with the grace of Christ, he also has gained the victory over these powers of darkness in his own life, by freeing himself from all that is sinful, and opening himself up to the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit of Christ.
Courtesy of
Catholic Information Network (CIN)