One of the foundational concepts of Christianity is the principle of sin as the obstacle to reuniting with God. Defining sin is a question that haunts the faithful. How do we adjust our behavior to avoid sinning? How do we even know what sin is?
As is common, we tend to complicate the question by applying human standards to a spiritual question. Even if we use the original Ten Commandments as a guide, we immediately begin to apply conditions to the simple rules.
Thou shalt not kill? What about self-defense or in defense of family? What about war? The Bible is filled with tales of epic battles and conflicts that ended in death. Remember David and Goliath?
Honor thy father and thy mother? What if dad is a serial killer or mom is a prostitute? Do they still deserve to be honored? What if mom sacrificed her virtue to feed her family?
Thou shalt not steal? If your baby is starving and near death and you have no resources, should you ignore that baby food that someone forgot in their grocery cart?
The bottom line is that the Ten Commandments, the original sin list, is nearly impossible to accomplish in total. Who among us hasn’t engaged in a little coveting? Who among us hasn’t felt envious of the neighbor’s new car or our cousin’s new home.
When it comes time to count our sin score, we can easily conclude that it is beyond our ability. The reason is simple. Virtually every selfish thought that we entertain constitutes sin.
If we recognize God’s realm as perfection, we would conclude that those who dwell there would be free of all the imperfections that accompany the human on earth. There would be no reason to covet your neighbor’s assets when you have no need of material goods and have access to all that you do need. There would be no hostility where love prevails. In short, all the elements of conflict and temptation are missing.
Our efforts to acknowledge and correct our sinful nature is our feeble and futile attempt to achieve the personal perfection that we need to become citizens of God’s realm. And, while we may never achieve that level of perfection in our earthly existence, it should be our obligation to strive toward that goal.
The Ten Commandments represents the goals we should aspire to. Christianity is the salvation, the acknowledgment that humankind is incapable of achieving the ultimate goal. Christianity is, in effect, our last hope of meeting the standards of God’s spiritual realm.