People don’t like to think or talk much about sin. Thinking about sin makes us uncomfortable; talking about sin may even make us squirm. Perhaps reading this article may be unnerving for some. The word ‘sin’ conjures up images of darkness and death for many; for others the word evokes thoughts of guilt, sadness, and regret—because we all have things in our pasts we wish could be forgotten.

This might be why, when we do commit a sin, we would rather call it something other than sin. It is easier to admit that “I’m not perfect” or “I made a mistake” than it is to say “I sinned”. Saying the ‘s’ word sometimes seems a bit extreme.

Having grown up in the church, one of the first things that comes to mind when I think of committing a sin is breaking one of the Ten Commandments. You know, that famous list of rules: Have no other gods before the Lord, don’t worship idols, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, keep the Sabbath, honor your parents, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t give false testimony, and don’t covet. And while I grew up knowing this list of rules, the commands seemed a bit random to me. I didn’t always understand why breaking one of these would constitute me “sinning”.

I have since come to approach this famous list of “do’s and don’ts” a bit differently. I have come to see that the common thread running through the Ten Commandments is that, in breaking any one of them, you don’t just break a rule; you break a relationship. In breaking any one of the Ten Commandments you either damage your relationship with God or you damage your relationship with your neighbor (be they your friend, family, coworker, or enemy). This realization has helped me to see sin in a whole new light, and, quite frankly, it has helped me to see God in a whole new light.

Some people have this image of God as a sort of rule-keeper who wants to punish them because they broke one of his many random commands. I’ve now come to believe that the reason God is passionate about his commands is because he is passionate about maintaining right relationships. More than anything God wants us to be in right relationship with him and in right relationship with others. If you covet your neighbor possessions, jealousy will eventually break down your friendship or prevent one from deepening. If you fail to take a Sabbath, and fail to get the rest and time with your family you need, it may not happen immediately but eventually even those closest to you will grow distant. If you don’t honor your parents, relational tension or worse is almost guaranteed to ensue. Every broken commandment has its consequences.

All sin somehow breaks relationships with either God or others. That is why God hates sin and that is why God desires that we not sin. God, more than anything, desires that our relationship with him be made right. No matter what we’ve done—and no matter how many commandments we’ve broken—our relationship with God and others is not past the point of restoration. Why? Because God knows that we humans are not perfect and he knows that we can’t make our messed up relationships right on our own. That’s why God sent his son Jesus to show us the way and clear the path for reconciliation in our relationships with God and others. In light of this, may we walk in the way of Jesus and seek to avoid sin not because life is about rule-keeping but because life is about relationship-keeping.

Pastor Matt Kronberg