Gasp! They Sinned??

Sin. It’s an ugly word. It’s often uttered in hushed tones and gossiped from ear to ear.

“Did you hear about so-and so?”

In christian circles, we often like to use “veiled” words also. We don’t spell out what happened. We politely coin words and suggest something improper happened but we like to leave dignity to the offender.

And that’s okay. Accept that even christians gossip and spread rumors. And most of us have a very strong need to know the truth. The REAL story. So what is offered up as a way to quench any uproars from people, often spurs private conversations galore.

Everyone talks about “it.”

Let me just throw this out there. We ALL sin. Just because we love the Lord and may serve in a position of leadership doesn’t mean we don’t have weaknesses or areas of temptation. In fact, if we find ourselves in these roles, Satan may go out for us with even more fervor. He likes to ruin reputations, you see. Steal joy. Damage trust. Topple thriving, growing families and ministries. It’s his specialty.

I hate sin. Just because I know we all sin at times, doesn’t mean I don’t hate it. I hate it with a passion. I’ve seen how it tears apart, breaks, and cripples people. I’ve felt the hurt and shed the tears – as have many of us.

The thing is – how do we handle sin when it is revealed to us? If we find out one among us is pregnant, struggles with pornography, had an affair, stole, killed someone – how do we deal with our brother and sister in the Lord? Do we continue to whisper about them behind their back? Do we withdraw our love from them?

Most times, from what I’ve seen, is that we act as if suddenly someone that we admired is now flawed. When in reality, they always were flawed.

We don’t see everything in someone’s life. We don’t see them on the computer. We don’t always see how they treat their wife and kids. We aren’t always with kids when they go out for the weekend.

Whether or not we love the Lord isn’t the question. It’s whether or not we can call on God to give us the strength to do the right thing in a tempting situation.

I don’t want to turn my back on someone who is willing to try and “right” their wrongs. I don’t want to stop loving someone who I KNOW, is trying to get their heart and life right. And I don’t want to condemn or criticize – but I know that’s so easy to do.

I am imperfect. We are all imperfect. And we are not immune to satan’s attacks however he chooses to aim them at us. Alcohol, drugs, sex, abuse --- they exist and they are powerful.

Grace given. That’s what God did for me. And that’s what I need to do for someone else. It may not be easy. It may take a lot of prayer to get to….but we all make mistakes.

May we hold one another up when we do….instead of tearing each other down.