How Is Humanity Weak? 7

Humans are sinful

Sin is the destruction of relationship, disloyalty, the harm of the Other. Sin is disloyalty to God who created us, who loves us and provides all good things for us to meet our needs. We tend to think much more of ourselves than God. And even though our relationship with God is much less complex than our relationship to government or family, and much more central to our needs, we gravitate toward the latter relationships rather than the former.

Sin is harming other people, who were made in God’s image, because of our own fears and desires. It is acting out destruction against others because it is better for us. It is not acting for the benefit of others, even though it is in our power to do so, because of our own fears and drives. It is listening to that which oppress us rather than God’s Spirit who leads us to do what is good for all.

We do not sin because of Adam’s sin. Rather, each and every one of us enacts Adam’s sin ourselves. We believe in our independence more than we believe in our relationship with God. We rely more on our sense of fear and our sense of need rather than our more obvious factual knowledge of another’s need.

Why are we sinful? Because we are weak. Even our displays of strength—our technology, our ability to travel in space, our ability to fly around the earth in hours, our communication with each other no matter where we live, our growth of amazing amounts of food, our ability to control the atom, our ability to crush diseases—are paired directly with our weaknesses—the multiplication of diseases, the ability to destroy innocents at the push of a button, two billion people starving, a thriving porn industry and slavery associated with that, an epidemic of homelessness, diseases that ravage a continent although they can be stopped, millions of people drinking contaminated water. The internet is used to gossip and dishonor much more than uphold the good. Television is used to encourage fear instead of provide social benefit. Knowledge of the Bible is used to destroy people’s morality instead of building up people’s love of God and others.

But I can’t really blame anyone. I do the same things, although I try not to. I am weak. I am human. Lord, let me dive into You so Your love drowns my desires and fears. Let me come out a new creature of purity and new hope.