SIN!!!!!

Now that you've read the uplifting title of this post, you're really encouraged, right? No? Seriously, no?

As a disclaimer, I would like to reiterate that I'm not an ordained minister, licensed counselor, or medical professional whatsoever. I like my freedoms of speech and expression. I like getting to use them here on my blog. Thanks in advance for reading my opinions, ideas, and interpretations. (Especially when my cats are involved.)

While Macho awaits his surgery, the vet prescribed some medicine. I think it's an antibiotic. My job is to use a syringe and squirt 1 ML of this stuff down Macho's throat. The first time I opened a bottle of this stuff, I apologized to my cat in advance for having to give it to him. It's a thick, sticky, gritty brown liquid. It's really nasty. I don't blame him for fighting me every time I've had to shove it down his throat. It's been quite a daily ordeal that has involved me squeezing the back half of his body with my legs while I maneuver through his flailing muscular forearms and shove in a tiny bit of liquid past his freaked-out fangs. Sometimes, all of it gets down his throat like it's supposed to. Other times, he coughs part of it out, or he shakes some of it off his whiskers, or I miss his mouth completely and squirt myself with this nasty brown stuff. I've gotten it on my clothes, on my floor, and on my kitchen appliances. And have I mentioned that this medicine is extremely nasty?

Fortunately, I think this medicine has been helping him. He seems almost back to his old self. I'm hoping that the vet will tell me that Macho's bladder stone miraculously disappeared and that he won't need surgery after all. But meanwhile, this medicine has been good for him, even though having it shoved down his throat has probably been a terribly nasty experience.

"As it is written: 'There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.' " (Romans 3:10-11)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

"Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

So, the truth of the gospel is that every single person has sinned, and has therefore earned spiritual death, which means eternal separation from God in hell. In other words, I believe that everybody, EVERYBODY, is going to hell because everybody, EVERYBODY, has sinned... unless a person accepts Jesus as the sacrifice for his or her sin. Then there's no need for that person to go to hell, because God's wrath was already satisfied with Jesus. Any type of punishment that God was saving up for me, He poured it out on Jesus while He hung on the cross over 2,000 years ago.

Everything in the abovementioned paragraph is probably controversial, and theologians are probably still debating it, but from what I understand about scripture, that's what I believe. I believe that everybody, EVERYBODY EXCEPT JESUS, has sinned. Jesus is the cure for my spiritual disease. But in my past, people crammed Him down my throat so hard that I resisted Him at first. Then at some point, I think I stopped resisting and just took it, because fighting it seemed kinda pointless. But who wants something nasty shoved down their throat?

Of course, there isn't anything nasty about Jesus at all. (Except for the sin that was heaped on Him while He was on the cross.) He is 100% sinless, 100% holy, and 100% the answer to eternal life, the answer to all my spiritual crises, my King who will always have the ultimate authority, my Lord who will always be in charge, and my Champion who will always give me hope. I wouldn't have met my Heavenly Father if it weren't for Jesus. But it's the people who have stuffed Him inside a tiny little syringe, cornered me, and shoved Him down my throat that made Jesus taste so nasty to me for so many years.

I'll admit that it worked at first. I got saved in the first place because I didn't want to go to hell. (I mean, who does?) But after my Father adopted me, a lot of His people kept trying to motivate me to behave by stuffing Jesus inside a little syringe, accusing me of sinning when I really didn't, and shoving Him and His supposed punishment down my throat. Nasty!

Sin is real. Sin really does have serious consequences. And everybody does it and could possibly continue to do it until we leave this earth -- lying, stealing, being impatient, yelling for no good reason, manipulating, cheating, disobeying, etc., you name it. But I personally have found labeling something to be "sin" to be a terrible motivator to behave. In fact, I personally have found using sin, or even inventing sin and accusing me of having it, to be kinda hurtful.

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" (my Jesus talking in Matthew 6:25)

For example, I heard a sermon at least once on how worrying is a sin. From what I can remember, the above verse was used in this sermon.

Um.

So, in addition to me worrying about life in general, I now have to worry about the fact that I've just SINNED by worrying? How is that supposed to make me feel any better? I think it might actually make me feel a bit worse.

OK, so Jesus said to not worry about the basics of living life here on earth. I get it. But to label it as a "sin," stuff it into a syringe, and corner me by preaching at me is going to make truth taste really nasty to me. Wouldn't it be easier to just become an irresponsible human being and move back in with my parents? I wouldn't have to worry about my life then. I might not even have to worry about paying bills, showering, or becoming an adult, either.

(The abovementioned paragraph was just an example. Moving back in with your parents is definitely not always a bad thing.)

As another example, some of my church's literature teaches that you fear whatever you worship. (Or perhaps that you fear the opposite of what you worship.) In other words, if you have a fear of rejection, you worship acceptance. If you have a fear of failure, you worship success.

Um.

So, in addition to me dealing with a fear of rejection or a fear of failure, I now have to worry about the fact that I've just SINNED by committing idolatry? How is that supposed to make me feel any better? I think it might actually add to my problems.

OK, so if you stare at something long enough, if you idealize something long enough, you might eventually become afraid of losing it forever. I get it. But to label it as a "sin," stuff it into a syringe, and corner me by accidentally labeling me as an idolater might make me gag on the truth while I'm trying to swallow it. Wouldn't it be easier to just convert to another religion that would require me to keep a statue of my god inside my house? I mean, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

(Those last two sentences were me being facetious.)

My point is that Jesus is the Cure. But we're the ones who can package Him wrongly and make Him taste nasty to people.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

I'm discovering that love can be a lot harder than it sounds. God commands me to love all people. From what I understand, He doesn't want me to like everybody, but He wants me to love them. That's hard to do. From what I understand, the word "love" here in 1 Corinthians 13 isn't a word that means physical love or brotherly love. From what I understand, it's an unconditional, sacrificial love.

And that's exactly what Jesus did when He died on the cross for me, for everybody. He gave up His life willingly not because I was perfect, not because I was loveable, or not because I did anything to deserve a second chance. He died for me, sacrificed His life for me, because He loved me. He died for everybody, including all the people who crucified Him, mocked Him, and spat in His face.

Um.

I know, it's hard to fathom. But that's Jesus. That's how He rolls. That's just the way He is. I hope I didn't make that truth taste nasty to you.

Meanwhile, Macho is almost done taking all his nasty medicine. Seriously, doesn't he look fine to you?