Sin

The young cousin of the guy who was in charge of all the drug deals in our neighborhood moved in with him for a few months. The church was just down the street from their house and when the doors were open this kid was inside.

Not long after he arrived, he handed me a couple of loose-leaf pages he had decorated. I opened them to see his art work. Along with the drawings of the church building and some illustration of the activities here was the statement "Be a Sin."

On the second page he wrote an acrostic of how to "Be a Sin":

B Behave yourself
E Easy on Bad News

A Act in a Proper Way

S Survive through the Bad Things
I Intelligent --- Show your act
N be Nice to Grown Ups

Needless to say, I was curious as to where he came up with this idea. He said, "Well, sin is a word I've heard at some of the churches I've been to so I figured it must be something people who go to church are supposed to be."

I wonder, how many people have gotten confused about things because people at church are busy "Being a Sin"?

I don't mean this in the way the described in the acrostic. I mean that sometimes as a Christians I display the exact opposite of what I'm trying to teach. It's so easy to do.

It's so easy when I receive insight and wisdom to be a sin and live in arrogance rather than in humility.

It's so easy when I receive material blessings to be a sin and live in greed rather than in generosity and abundance.

It's so easy when I feel supported and loved in a community's fellowship to be a sin and exclude others who are desperately seeking it.

It's so easy when I have been delivered from my destructive habits to be a sin and condemn those who are still ensnared.

It's so easy when I have a place of sanctuary to be a sin and withdraw from the world rather than to engage it.

Isn't the church often portrayed in the media as arrogant, greedy, exclusive, condemning, and withdrawn? Sometimes, my own "Being a Sin" is what has helped that image have a bit of truth in it.

If I'm going to be accused of "Being a Sin," then I want to be the kind of "sin" that our neighbor boy described: behaving myself, easy on the bad news, acting in a proper way, surviving through the bad things, intelligent and showing my act, and nice to grown ups.

Like the kid said, it's how ". . . people who go to church are supposed to be."

Lord, forgive me when I've abandoned Your ways amid Your blessings. Let my actions and attitudes reflect Your light and, in doing so, let your Way live in me.