Forget the Word Sin

Let's talk about sin. What's sin? Well, it's doing bad things. Right? Sin is coveting, lying, stealing, fornicating, and murdering.

Maybe those things are sins.

But did you know that "sin" is an archery term? "Sin" means, missing the mark. There's a target with a bull's eye on it. I draw the bow string back, and let the arrow fly. If I hit the bull's eye, great. If I don't, I've sinned. I've missed the mark.

Life is the bull's eye. Anything that misses the mark of life is sin. Anything that doesn't flow from life and lead to life is sin.

Christians, I want you to forget about the word, "sin." Not forever. But for the moment, set it aside,

The word "sin is too churchy. It's too loaded. People balk when you talk about "sin." What's your reaction when someone says to you, "You're a sinner"? I'll bet it's defensive.

"Who're you calling sinner? I'm not a sinner. You're a sinner!"
OR
"Maybe I'm a sinner, but what right do you have to accuse me?"

We think of sin as something a person does, as a conscious choice to "be bad." Sin is something that's you're fault. *You're a sinner.

People balk at that. It doesn't matter if it's true. People don't want to hear it, and they shut down immediately if you say it to them.

Then there's the fact that it's very difficult, if not impossible, at this time and place in history, to call someone a "sinner" without sounding like you're setting yourself up as a judge and talking down to people.

But you can sidestep the problem of judgment, and people will give you a hearing if you talk about these things:

injustice
unfairness
randomness
sickness
violence
death

People understand you immediately when you talk about the injustice of a legal system that's slanted toward the rich, white, and powerful. People recognize unfairness when they see it, even in themselves. People can relate to the randomness of a plane crash. They know what it's like to catch a cold, miss work with the flu, or receive a diagnosis of cancer. Only the psychopathic fail to understand the horrors of violence. No one wants to die. You don't need to convince hardly anyone that these things aren't the way that things should be.

Sin *is injustice, unfairness, randomness, sickness, violence, and death. among other things.

So why are we using the word "sin" when everybody balks at it, and doesn't want to hear it, when we could just use those other words that people *instantly understand, relate to, and agree with?

Maybe we should try that.

You don't need to use the word "sin" to convey the message that life is filled with disappointment, heartache, and failure. And you don't need to accuse people of being a part of that. They already know that they don't always hit the mark. You don't need to call them a "sinner."

So don't.

Forget the word sin.