We are a very touchy sort. As long as matters go our way we are chirping with the birds. When the winds shift and matters seem to be against us, we have a way of dismissing such as for the birds.
Sin is vicious, slick, vile, smooth, and always wrong. Jesus was not tormented upon the Cross for our bad attitudes. He was hung up for our S-I-N-S.
Especially in this age of conversation being monitored by the politically correct, sin carries sensitive meaning. It is the messenger, therefore, that often becomes the bad guy. Opinions are not only rampant; they can be very out there for public scrutiny. And, believe me, we have opinions!
Here is something I notice about sin and sinners. When our sin is the topic we tend to become defensively deflective. If my sin is greed, we want to distract by asking why drunkenness and thievery are not targeted. Yet, if we happen to be a drunk, we want to divert attention to those gay or adulterous. In all cases the tendency is to undermine the messenger in hopes of dismissing our glaring errors.
Until we face the truth that we are each a desperately sinful person, the Cross and the communion trays are mere symbols for religious exercise. However, when we realize that my sin is the worst one (as in chiefest of sinners), humility enters and worship begins.
The push-back of any accusation towards sin usually arises when one's personal flaw is a public discussion; not the person, but the sin. What each category of we sinners needs notation is that every one of us can be touchy about our sin-zone. It really isn't that we are being selectively targeted. It is simply that we are touchy because we know we are guilty.
Thus, we have become pros at diversionary tactics. What about THEM?
No one is off the hook. Jesus had to suffer for all. Ours is to receive such mercy and grace and live mighty thrilled that payment has been made. To deny our sin is to deny our need for salvation is to deny that the Cross has any current value.
The messenger isn't the bad guy. Those of us who dodge the sin-bullet are the questionable parties.
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