The Vatican has put up a new list of sins that are considered as deadly as those mentioned traditionally. We can all go back and talk about pride, gluttony, sloth, envy, anger, greed and lust but the new list includes polluting, genetic engineering, being obscenely rich, drug dealing, abortion, pedophilia and causing social injustice. Without a doubt sin is a very broad issue and never limited by mere words and definitions. As a matter of fact, a Wesleyan like me would obviously embrace quite a number of definitions but with one simply standing out. Sin is simply a willful transgression against a known law of God. When I take Jesus' summary of the law of Moses when He said, you gotta love your God with all your heart, soul and mind and then love your neighbor as yourself, it obviously suggests a relational aspect of the nature and attribute of God.
Relationship
There is no question about the importance of a strong relationship with God and the need to constantly nurture that relationship. Firstly I acknowledge the fact that I am a sinner who is totally dependent on God and that I can not do anything else but to trust and rely upon Christ's faithfulness. I also acknowledged God's sacrifice through His son Jesus Christ who died to save me from my sins. As a result of his resurrection, I can now live a life free of sin. I don't totally condemn the necessity of works in trying to address holy living. But I think God excepts me to grow from childhood to adulthood. That comes with responsibility and each one of us is called to be responsible and not careless. It also means that I should not take the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ for granted. I must constantly work at it with fear and trembling. Of course I will not necessarily trust in my merits but Christ's merits on the cross. So how do I nurture this relationship without placing all the attention on what I am doing instead of what Christ is doing in me? Well, it is through submission and fully submitting myself to God, in His service and to His people. This means I must love unconditionally just like He did for me. If I haven't done any sin then there would be no need to be saved. But as Jesus pointed out, if any of us was called upon to cast the first stone in case we are sinless, then all of us would walk away with our heads low. A relationship must be responsible. Christ watches over us every day, but we have to allow him to work in us. We can choose to resist or give him way. A relationship can be broken especially in this sinfully stained world. But with God, it can be restored and the most beautiful thing is, it can be restored completely as if it was anew.
So what is all these to do with these sins. I totally agree that these are unacceptable acts before God. With a society where individualism and pride is taking over by the minute, it is becoming harder and harder by the day to address some of these acts. I therefore applaud the Vatican for taking the step to acknowledge these. More to follow.
