What causes sin?
March 21st, 2010Attending Church one eventually hears the topic of sin. Sin is usually attributed to various things such as lying, greed, stealing, killing, etc; yet much like a doctor’s office they typically only provide solutions to fix the symptoms never really taking care of the root problem. So we ask for God’s forgiveness and close our eyes to the root problem. With this solution we seem good for the time being, but soon slip back into life sin. Unfortunately, until the root problem is understood the situation will not get better and our lives will continue to be in a repeating pattern.
I’ve heard that traveling the world one can see a difference between affluent and poor people. The poor people always seem to be smiling and content with what little they have appreciating the simple things in life. There is little to worry about when one has nothing. Yet, affluent people on the other hand are often concerned and worried about what the future will bring. With wealth brings responsibility and the fear of loss. In one of the richest nations, the United States, people are in a continual state of consumption and personal achievement; never having enough. This life style can often breed greed, lying, cheating, stealing, envy, lust along with many other sinful ways. The Bible gives us guidance on how we should live. If we look carefully enough, we’ll even find the root problem to all sins which will aid us in living Christ like.
A rich man once approached Jesus and asked how he might obtain eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the Ten Commandments. Having kept all of the commandments the man wondered what he still lacked. Jesus told him that in order to be perfect the man would have to sell his possessions and give to the poor; after that he could follow Christ. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very wealth. Jesus then said, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:16-24, NIV). This wasn’t necessarily about the money; it was more about living a selfless life.
God’s ways are higher than mankind’s. God created this world not for his benefit, but for our benefit; God’s ways are selfless in nature. When Adam was created he was put on Earth to maintain it and to be its keeper. When Eve was put on this Earth, it was to help Adam and to be his partner. We were created with the original intent of living selfless lives. But then our human nature took effect, Adam and Eve wanted to acquire knowledge and be like gods thus eating the fruit. Many people would say that the sin was disobeying God and not following God’s orders. Yet if we look at the situation carefully the reason for the disobedience was the pursuit of personal gain, a self centered act thus detaching us from God’s intent and purpose. God’s purpose for us is to live a life of selflessness. Being self-centered is the root of all sins.
Let’s handle the first objection, what if someone commits a selfless sin such as killing on someone else’s behalf? I believe that God would see the overall good in matter of a selfless act. For example, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. Obviously Moses was forgiven and later used by God. Yet, it’s hard to imagine anyone killing anybody without some motive. Jesus obviously doesn’t condone killing while giving a selfless examples of turning the other cheek, loving your enemies, and praying for those that persecute you.
Jesus had been questioned in regards to which of the commandments was the greatest. Jesus first answered, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, and soul and next love your neighbor as yourself.“(Matthew 22:39, NIV). The only way this is possible is to live a life of selflessness. Jesus in his very nature was the perfect example of one who lived selfless life style; an example that we should all strive to follow. Note Romans 8:5, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” (NIV) “Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5, NIV).
In short our sinful natures are a result of trying to fulfill our natural desires. We’ve heard of such things as the “Me generation,” and the pursuit of Happiness which is often equated to wealth and achievement. Children often start life care free and charitable but quickly become accustomed to our self-seeking life styles. The root of the problem is that we are naturally self-centered and without taking a conscious step into being selfless, society will continue living a downward spiral driven on ever expanding desires with a thirst that will never be quenched as we tear at one another to get ahead.
God intended us to be selfless, mankind chose to be selfish. Our pride and self consuming nature is the root of all sin.


