Don’t Let Another Cause You To Sin

6 Feb

“Don’t let sin against you produce sin in you.”  ~ Unknown

If you get me, I’m going to get you back.  If you get me back worse, I will get you back even worse.  If you get me even worse than the first worse, I’ll get you back even worse than my first worse.  And on and on it goes.  We are a people who seem to have it ingrained in us that we need to get back at anyone who harms us.  If they harm us, we need not only to harm them but to harm them worse.

Brothers and sisters, it doesn’t need to be that way.  As a matter of fact, it should NOT be that way.  Jesus did not call us to retaliation and retribution. No, He called us to love and forgive.  There should be nothing that we cannot forgive.

If someone sins against us, we have a choice.  We could embody their sin and, therefore, produce sin or we could embody the values and virtues of Jesus Christ and let it be. There is no reason to retaliate.  Instead, there is every reason in the world to forgive and foster reconciliation.

After all, if a person is sinning against us, it might be because we have done something to hurt them.  They might be wrong in harming us but, at the same time, we might need to look into the dynamics of our relationship and see if there is a need for us to build peace between the two of us.

If we strive to be people of love and peace, mercy and forgiveness, we will be more at peace with ourselves and more in a position to impact our world positively.  There are way too many examples of negativity in our world.  There are way too few examples of positivity.  If we embody a positive nature, if we live loving and merciful lives, we can do so much for the world.

If somebody does harm to you and you really want to get them back, don’t do it.  Instead, hand it over to the Lord.  There will be a day of reckoning that comes to each of us.  Better to let the Lord be the judge of all — including ourselves — than to try to become the judge.

Remember, the manner by which we judge others will be the manner in which we are judged.  If we want to be forgiven, we must learn to forgive.  If we want to be loved, we must love.

If we allow sin against us to produce sin in us, we will just perpetuate everything that is wrong.  However, living as a people of love and mercy, we can break the cycle of sin and initiate a cycle of love.  Just as sin and hurt produces sin and hurt, mercy and love can produce mercy and love.

FAITH ACTION:  Be a person who embodies the mercy and love of God this day.