Call It What It Is

By Susan November 19, 2014 Devotion

Last week, my family and I toured the High Line in NYC. It’s an old dilapidated elevated train that was to be torn down until a community group came to its rescue. It’s now an exquisite park with gorgeous foliage and sweeping views of New York City.

The most recently completed section, the north end, is starkly different from the rest of the park in that its restoration intentionally left what the park architects call a “self-seeded landscape.”

When my husband saw the unkempt disarray, he joked, “That’s what we’ll call our backyard weeds now – our ‘self-seeded landscape.’”

But no matter what you call it, you can’t change the truth, and the raw truth here is that the “self-seeded landscape” is really just a mass of weeds.

We tend to do that with our spiritual weeds too – our sins. It’s part of our culture:

Politicians don’t lie – they “mis-speak.”
Pastors don’t commit adultery – they “display a lapse in judgment.”
People don’t steal from the government – they “fudge” their taxes.
Professionals don’t stab co-workers in the back – they utilize “career strategy” to get ahead.

People may claim they made a mistake, but a mistake and a sin aren’t the same thing. A mistake is accidental. Sin is intentional. To call sin a mistake is to minimize our responsibility.

As wives and moms, our tongues and our tempers may cause us to sin. Losing these may seem more like a mistake than an intentional transgression, but self-control is a fruit of the Spirit and when we lose it, we need to address what we’ve done for what it is and take appropriate action.

Jesus didn’t die for our mistakes. He died for our sins. A huge price was paid, and we mustn’t ever minimize our sins. Instead, we’re called to acknowledge our behavior with biblical accuracy. Take personal responsibility, confess and repent, and when necessary seek forgiveness.

Of course, it’s best if we can avoid spiritual “weeds” in the first place. But if one of those “weeds” sprouts up, don’t admire it. It’s destructive and deadly.

Call sin what it is, and eradicate it!