Sin or an everyday mistake?

I don’t have children myself but I’ve baby sat and nannied enough to know a thing or two about it. Children don’t know how to interact in society and its our job, as adults, to teach them this. Little Sally hits little Johnny on the head with a building block, and she has to learn this is not okay. Little Johnny pinches his sister in the back seat of the car, and he has to learn from mom and dad this this is not how you treat people.

Sometimes children don’t know that what they are doing is wrong until they are told. They are children and the world is new to them. Thing is, part of becoming an adult is learning from your mistakes and taking responsibility. Little Johnny may get away with hitting his sister once, but, if once he has clearly been told this is wrong, he continues to hit his sister, then this becomes more serious. You didn’t know; fine. You did know; not so fine. This is where the difference between sin and an everyday mistake comes into play.

How many times have you heard a politician cover up for something they did with the words: “It was a mistake…”? How many times have you heard someone cover up for an affair with the words “Sorry, I made a mistake”? Technically, if you knew it was wrong at the time and you still went ahead with the action, you sinned. Sin is a deliberate action. This action was not outside of your frame of knowledge. It was not a mistake. A mistake implies an error in judgement. When Sally hits Johnny and tells you “I didn’t mean to…” when you have told her three times this is not right, she really means is “I didn’t mean to get caught”.

Everyone makes mistakes and everyone sins. However, a mark of a man is how he learns and deals with this. When you mess up, here are some points on the best way you can fix your bad situation.

1. Take responsibility: Take the hit. If you have sinned, own it. Even if you have made a mistake, own it. If someone provoked you and you responded badly, you should own that response. Being a person who says “Yes, I did that,” is far, far better than being someone who tries to shift the blame and claim innocence. When someone takes full responsibility they are more likely to be respected. The outcome always ends up being better.

2. It’s okay to feel guilty: Guilt is a legitimate emotion created by God to point you in the right direction when you do something wrong. It points you towards reconciliation. The important thing is to not sit in your guilt and do nothing about it. Your guilt will fade when you take the right actions, forgive yourself, and ask God for forgiveness.

3. Change your actions: Saying sorry means nothing if you keep doing the bad thing over and over again. Genuine apologies and remorse must be accompanied by change. Johnny has to stop hitting Sally. Tears and emotions are often part of an apology, but don’t let these cover up for a lack of authentic change.

4. Ask for forgiveness: You can’t demand forgiveness from a person. You are not entitled to someone’s forgiveness, this is their right to give or withhold. If you take full responsibility and show change then you are far more likely to be extended grace and forgiveness. Remember that you will have to forgive yourself too for what you have done.

Jesus forgives our sins. He died on a cross so we may be forgiven of everything we ever do. This does not mean that intentionally hurting people or sinning is okay. It means if you change your ways and ask for his help, he always makes a way out and enables you to change. Deal with your sin with maturity, don’t pass it over as a mistake, and endeavour to always work towards becoming a better person.