SIN

SIN
Journal Page in Oil Pastel
inspired by the many mistakes I've made in my life
by Cheryl Harris White

I almost didn't post this one because it is so ugly.  But when I think about sin, that's really what it is.... ugly.  The letters are dark grey, sick with hints of green and yellow.  The words inside the letters say... "Sin always costs you more than you can afford to pay...Keeps you longer than you want to stay... and always hurts deeper than they say. " The red at the top of the letters represents that our sins were paid for with the sacrifice of blood... Christ's blood shed to forgive us, through his death on the cross. 


The trouble with sin really, is naming and measuring it.  People have so many different perspectives on what sin is and what it isn't.  My view is, that sin is anything that separates me farther from God.   I believe that we all need to worry less about which of our sins was worse or better, or what degree of sin we've been involved in.  Some people even like pointing out how horrible the sins of others are in an effort to make themselves feel better about their own small ones.  What a mess.  Sin is sin. It's very dangerous, painful and expensive, and we are all guilty of it.


I've found it's much better to quit obsessing over all that.  Instead I prefer to simply focus more on activities and routines that draw me closer to God.  After all, He's the One who paid for all our sin in the first place, and He is really the only One who knows or needs to know what each one cost.  Shifting my focus onto who God is and how I can know Him has made all the difference.  As a result, I still sin, but I'm not overwhelmed by it.  I know God loves me, I'm much happier, and I seem to do much better at staying out of trouble.