Question: What is sin?

So far, in these blog posts, I have tried to address basic questions of human identity. I have said that, as a human being, each of us is 1) created by God, 2) in the image of God, 3) male and female, and 4) we are loved by God 5) even in our imperfections. In general, I’ve been trying to first address a theological point regarding man’s identity, and then discuss some related philosophical or cultural question, for those reasonable people who may not share the same religious background but are just as distressed by the crisis of identity in our world.

So, realizing that I have several times mentioned the word “sin”, I feel I should explain it.

Here is the basic dictionary definition of sin: A transgression of divine law.

There is more to this, but law is something that makes sense to us. We live in a country, a state, a city, that is governed by laws. We may not know all of them, we may not agree with all of them, but we know that whether or not we know them or agree with them, we are subject to them. There are consequences if we break them, and those consequences can sometimes be very severe, especially if we knew that what we were doing was wrong and we chose to do it anyway.

It is the same with God’s law. Well, almost the same. Scripture says that, “The law of the Lord is perfect…The decree of the Lord is trustworthy…[and] the precepts of the Lord are right” (Ps. 19: 8-9). How often can we say just the opposite about our human laws? But God is perfect, and so all that He does is perfect, good, holy, and right. He does it not only because it is the best thing, but because it is best for us, if not always materially (in our eyes) at least always spiritually. Therefore, God’s law is not always the same as man’s law. In fact, man’s law is sometimes in direct opposition to God’s law. But I do not see angels policing the planet and taking people to divine prison, so it can be easy to forget the consequences of acting contrary to God’s law. What are the consequences of sin?

Well, for lack of space, sin causes suffering. “It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity” (CCC #1849). If I choose to get drunk every weekend and sleep with different men, chances are I am going to suffer not only from a hangover but probably from an inner emptiness, if not also a sexually transmitted disease. I suffer natural consequences within my own person when I sin, because I am not living as I was created to.

I also injure others when I sin, because sin is like pee in the pool; it gets on everyone. That’s right. No matter how much I may argue that this is my choice and it’s my life and it’s my body and it doesn’t affect anyone else, it’s simply not true. For example, if I look at pornography, I have filled my mind with perverted images of the human person which then color and distort my interactions with others and encourage me to see them as objects to be used rather than persons to be loved.

More than anything, sin wounds my relationship with God, because it hardens my heart and prevents me from receiving His love and being a channel of His love to others. Consequently, if I persist in my sin without making an effort at reforming my life, I may lose a sense of His presence, or become lost or hopeless because I’m not connecting with the One who gives me life and identity and purpose. Furthermore, I could suffer this separation eternally, which is the worst tragedy a human being could endure. God respects my free will, and if I do not want to be with Him during my life, He would not force me to be with Him when die. I must choose it.

Let’s consider the rewards! When I choose virtue – when I choose God – over sin, I am happier, I am healthier, I become more free, I am better able to love, my relationships with other people are often strengthened, and I am better disposed to receive the love of God and to choose Him the next time and the next time and that final time for all eternity. (And if you are asking yourself, “How do I know God really exists?” I refer you, for starters, to Pascal’s wager. If God exists, and you live according to His laws, then in following them you gain not only an eternal reward but a virtuous life, which is a source of happiness and edification to yourself and those around you. If God does not exist, and you live according to “His laws”, I submit that your life will still be much fuller, freer and happier than if you did not.)

So, the final question: How can I follow God’s laws (and His Will, His desires) if I do not know them? Not very easily, that’s how. But wouldn’t you just rather know what God desires of you, so you can experience the rewards of living in accordance with it? 

Here are some suggestions:

·         Start with the Ten Commandments. Do you obey them? If you do not agree with one of them, seek to understand it more fully.

·         Then, consider Jesus’ example and His words. In particular: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” (Matthew 22: 37-40).

·         Finally, ponder the Beatitudes (In the Bible, Matthew 5: 1-12) and how to put them into practice in your own life. And pray! The more we pray and the more we reflect on the Scriptures, the more we see the sinful areas in our life (because no one is without them) and the ways we fail to love others, and we are reminded all the more that we need God, because we cannot save or perfect ourselves.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 6:23

“Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.” – Romans 5:20


Perhaps we could say that if sin is like pee in the pool, virtue is like chlorine....