God is good

I have been struggling with the idea of sin lately; well a little longer than just lately. I fully support gay marriage I believe love is love, and that God made us each and every one of us perfect. We were also given freewill the freedom to chose our beliefs, and make our own choices in life. In an odd twist I also totally (maybe slightly hypocritical twist) believe in fate and that God has a plan for each of us. A plan we can listen to or go against. You may ask me how do you know what the plan is? I would tell you loudly (so you can hear me. You may be thousands of miles away from me or next to me in the living room) that it is the voice that tells you what makes you happy. You know that thing you daydream about doing, or that thing that fills you with a sense of wonder. That is the thing you are meant to do. We are meant to be happy. For examples I will turn to

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3     a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6     a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7     a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8     a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

  Psalm 118:24

This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Proverbs 15:13

A joyful heart makes a cheerful face,
But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.

Proverbs 15:30

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

Proverbs 17:22

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Ecclesiastes 3:12

I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.

Ecclesiastes 11:9

Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.

If we follow the bible or I am sure most other religions we can find God telling us to be joyful and happy. Back to the topic of sins. Can we judge a person on their sins? The short answer is no. Honestly, it is the only answer.

Luke 6:37

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned

So what are sins? Well the bible tells us the top ten. I am using this website to help me site them http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/command.htm. You caught me it is The Catechism of the Catholic Church but you can find them in any Bible.

Exodus 20 2-17

1. I am the LORD your God:
you shall not have
strange Gods before me.

2. You shall not take
the name of the LORD your God in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet
your neighbor's wife.

10. You shall not covet
your neighbor's goods.

These are the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament. That's it. I think that as humans we are complicated and we are limited by who we are and what we know. I am not talking about education level.  Anais Nin said it best, "We don't see things as they are, and we see things as we are." I am pretty sure God knows that about each of us. He sent Jesus his son to us to suffer and die for our sins. Jesus gave us the golden rule:

Matthew 22:36-38
³⁵ Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
³⁶ Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
³⁷ Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
³⁸ This is the first and great commandment.
³⁹ And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
⁴⁰ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Who is the Neighbor Jesus is talking about? Well friend that is everyone. Not just the people in your community but those people everywhere.

John 13:34

³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

I am getting to my point via the very long and wordy route. I am a sinner. I sin all the time. I struggle with forgiveness, and keeping the Sabbath day holy, I curse, honoring my mother is especially hard for me to do, sometimes I covet things (I do have a huge want list), I get angry, and can be judgmental. I am guilty as you can see I break the Commandments. I am sinful. I believe we all struggle with the guilt of the things we do wrong none of my sins are greater than yours, and none of yours are greater than mine. We are equal. There is no score card to keep, there is no judgment from me against you. That is not my job. So in the Catholic Church we confess:

 I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

An Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all because I have offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.

 

Do you want to know the best part?

We are forgiven when we ask for it because we are loved. You are loved.

I hope that your day is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.