Sin

When my dad and I were on our way to our seminar (ah, the joys of continuing education which allows us to keep our RIA status...) yesterday, he asked me my opinion about sin and the atonement. I asked why he wanted to know, and he mentioned that he'd had a person in his office recently who had discussed this with me, and he was interested to hear more. I told him it was nothing new, and I probably heard it from him in the first place. He said he was pretty sure it didn't come from him and asked me to tell him what I had told my friend.

So this is the Samantha Stevens Theory of Sin and the Atonement. It is not doctrine. This is my opinion. I love to use bold!!

My belief is that everything that happens in this life is, or can become, an avenue to draw us closer to God and Christ. Sin is no exception. Obviously we're going to sin. That's part of being human, and no amount of "trying" will change that. However, each time we sin we face a decision--what we will do next. For years my understanding was that when we sin, we become vile, filthy, horrible people and God wants nothing to do with us until we say we're sorry and promise never to do it again (which is sometimes ridiculous, because there's a chance we'll mess up numerous times before we finally get it right). This belief does not make me inclined to repent, but rather, to give up. There's also the belief that if you sin you should "just stop" sinning. I don't think that happens very often.

The more serious sins generally come about because we lack discipline or control over our impulses, and this is often because we aren't receiving what we need to help us feel able to regulate our desires. Sometimes we commit sin because we're reacting to feelings of worthlessness or because we've experienced deep hurt. Regardless of the reason, however, few people who are striving to keep God's commandments wake up one morning, stretch, and say, "Wow, I think I'll go fornicate today!"

If God knows us, he knows our hearts. He knows that even when we fall in horrifying ways, there are parts of us that still yearn to be the sons and daughters he has asked us to be. He also knows that just "stopping" isn't going to happen, which is why sometimes members of the clergy and therapists need to be consulted. Confession isn't instituted for the purpose of humiliation, it's to help us understand that we can't do everything on our own, and to show our Heavenly Father that we'll accept his will and help in our lives.

The judgmental view of sinners as unclean and vile is dangerous because it implies a belief that some of God's children are better than others--which is not true. And the scripture that says, "...confess and forsake..." aggravates me. It's just not that easy. However, Isaiah makes everything so much clearer when he says, "Come. Let us reason together..." God doesn't say, "Hey, Idiot! Stop being stupid and do what I tell you to do!" He says, "Come..." Come to me...I love you...I want you to be with me, and I with you...you're always welcome... "Let us reason together..." I love to talk with you...I want to hear what you have to say, and to remind you of my love for you...nothing you do can change that love...let's see what we can do together to help you feel better, to help you make healthy changes..."And "...though your sins be as scarlet..." your sins...not you... "...they shall be white as snow..." shall be... not "might be"...shall...for certain...because Christ made it possible for that to happen...because he loves us...and he wants to be with us, as well...

And so each time we sin, we're given the opportunity to make a decision. Believe the sin makes us irredeemable and continue to walk away from the commandments and beliefs that say our behavior is not in line with what God intends for us, or believe that through Christ's atonement we can use that sinful occasion to try his words, to see if he really does love and want us. And if we choose the second option, we'll have many opportunities to see if what he's said is true, because as much as we might try to avoid it, we will continue, in our human states, to sin daily, which will give us the chance to go to our Father and say, "Remind me? Reason with me? Help me become stronger? Forgive me? I want to be with you, too..." And each time we repeat the cycle we become better at overcoming the weaknesses that beset us, and we develop a beautiful, loving relationship with our creator.

When I view sin in this way, I no longer worry about a God who cannot view sin with "the least degree of allowance," because he's offered to help me get rid of it. He doesn't have to accept our sins because if we "reason" with him, and take the necessary steps, our sin goes away and he promises to "remember it no more." What a great friend. Of course, with his perfect memory he'll know all that we've done, but because he loves us and respects us, he won't ever mention it again--it will be as if the sin never happened. He will do nothing to impede our progress, and everything to encourage it.

So there you have it--simple and uncomplicated. And you can argue with me, and tell me that I'm wrong, but you need to know that I probably won't listen. This is what I believe. And since this is my blog, I can think of no better place to express that.