The Manifestation of Sin

This is an entry from my former blog.

In a lecture we were asked if we hate sin. There were a couple of responses, but nothing that raised any amount of discussion. At best we merely scratched the surface. I've been thinking about this topic mainly because the majority of those in the lecture were quiet when asked to respond on the topic.

If the same question were asked to a group of Salvationists during the Victorian Era the response would have been different. There would have been lively, engaging conversation spoken from the heart with conviction. I can imagine scripture being pitched in and personal accounts of testimonies and God's grace working in the lives of those speaking.

I think of one story where "Ol' Reddie" was converted in Kensington, Philadelphia. He was a drunk and a "scoundrel," as some literature has called him. He would harass Eliza Shirley and disrupt all of the meetings. Sin was so abundant in his life that his eyes looked like they were a never ending pit of fire. He was scary...until he came to the mercy seat (probably sobering up at that point) and with all the flare and drama that so many conversion stories of our Army heritage contain, was converted. The manifestation of sin in his life was broken. There was victory that day!

Do I hate sin? YES, yes, and yes! I hate what it does to people--to their lives, to their loved ones, to their potential, and to society at large. Sin is nasty. It is okay to hate what is not of God and what is not edifying the Kingdom. I, Monica, hate sin and I'm not ashamed of it. I think of how sin has manifested in my own life at time in the past and it makes me sick.

I know what sin can appear to look like in people. Further than the shame that some people try to hide I remember specifically working with gang members and drug dealers in North Philadelphia while in graduate school. I think of the mothers in the projects that I worked with...I think of the domestic batterers and criminals that I worked with in the Criminal Justice Center in center city Philly...I think of the lost souls who come to a local soup kitchen.I think of the people I have passed day in and day out on the street...I can see the sin in their eyes. Their hurting, lost, and confused. They are struggling. I can see the helplessness. I can see the manifestation of sin all around me and I hate it! That's not to say anything derogatory or negative about my past clients, just my personal experiences. I firmly believe that it is permissible to hate these things.

So what can be done about it? Why was the lecture that day nearly silent on this issue? I understand that we live in different times than our Salvationist forefathers did, but do we really? Have things gotten any better?

We should hate sin and fight against it. We are called to ACTION and we are in a battle. An Army moves...we have our "battle stations" where people can go for refuge and we have our "war crys." The battle we are engaged in is against sin and the author of sin.

The manifestation of sin is real and needs to be stopped.