“There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

Maybe this is where St. Paul got the notion . . .

“The very thing I want to do, I do not. That which I try not to do, I do anyway”. That is just my paraphrase of the gist of Paul’s inner turmoil – and ours. Our sinful nature doesn’t mean that we all sin equally. It is true that God views ALL sin as evil, as that which separates us from Him, as that which is “punishable” by death. Thankfully, none of us is Pol Pot, Stalin, or Hitler. Although inherently naughty by nature, we still make good choices. Environment and upbringing certainly have lots to do with those outcomes.

Made in the image of God counts for something.

We can be thankful that God does not operate in a quid pro quo fashion.

We all have done things that we believe are unforgivable. “The devil made me do it.” We owe it to ourselves and to each other in our relationships to let God be judge and accountant of our respective natures. The comparison game, other than what is stated in the first paragraph above, serves no one well. We should treat it all as “zero sum”, perhaps.

What an amazingly understanding God we have! He sorts us with great efficiency and wisdom. We can all learn and grow together. We can bask and bathe in the healing, sanctifying waters of His forgiveness, grace, and unconditional love.

 Pastor Art