Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? That is the question that comes to mind when I think about sin. Does sin cause me to pull away from YOU, or do I sin because I have pulled away from YOU? Colossians 1:21 says, “you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds…” The problem is not the physical outward sin, or “deeds of evil.” The problem is alienation and being hostile in mind to YOU. The NIV translates it as, “once you were alienated and were enemies in your minds, because of your evil behavior…” While this is possible in the original language, YOU said that “…the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander (Matthew 15:18-19). So, I sin because my heart is alienated and hostile to YOU.
So why am I so quick to condemn outward behaviors in other people? The problem is not what they DO. The problem is what they THINK and BELIEVE. We don’t trust YOU, we don’t believe YOU are good, we don’t want to submit our lives to YOU. So we pull away and become alienated.The natural outcome of this wrong thinking is sin. We all do evil things because our hearts are alienated from YOU. If people knew, trusted, and loved YOU, evil deeds would cease to exist.
Maybe, in presenting You to the world, I should concentrate more on these issues of the heart rather than criticizing outward behaviors. After all, when someone starts by just obeying rules, they will always resent those rules. But if someone starts by falling in love with YOU, the standards become something we do out of love and respect.
Lord, let my life be dedicated to promoting relationship with YOU, not attacking “deeds of evil.” I do not want my life to be defined by what I am AGAINST but by WHO I am FOR!
