Sin is a Tragedy

A few months ago, a lovely team from a church in Canada came all the way out here to West Africa (talk about commitment, huh?) to run a week-long camp for the missionary teens. On one of the days my friend and I were waiting for a game to start when one of the leaders sat down and started talking with us. This friend and I both love deep conversations revolving around God/scripture and the topic began to take an interesting direction towards sin nature.

About halfway through the conversation the leader paused and said, “my sin disgusts me.”

Thinking about the way he said it makes me want to cry. Because friends, sin is a tragedy. A terrible, heartbreaking tragedy. And it should disgust us. It should make us cry in passion and tremble in heartache.

How Sin is Like a Tragedy: Unpredictable and Unwanted

No one wants to watch a loved one suffer or die. No one enjoys when terrible, unplanned-for things happen. Tragedies are unpredictable and unwanted, and sin is very similar.

No one plans for sin. No one outlines their year saying, “on this day I’ll struggle with these specific sins, so I need to be ready for that.” As Christians we know that every human has a sinful nature and, therefore, will perpetually battle temptations while on this earth. But we are not all-knowing and do not have access to some “informative plan” that prepares us for what will come.

Sin is unpredictable.

Likewise, no one wakes up and says, “I truly want to struggle with sin today!” That is not to say that humans do not ever take pleasure in sin; many have, and many will continue to. And that is a heartbreaking reality. However, those who understand the challenge of battling sin nature do not desire to have to fight that battle.

Sin is not a desirable thing. It is messy, ugly, and painful. It leaves deep wounds and scars that never go away.

Sin is a tragedy.

What Makes Sin a Tragedy?

Sin acts like a tragedy and has very similar characteristics, as noted above. However, what is it that makes sin a tragedy?

That answer is quite simple.

1 John 3:6 says, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” In verse 4 it says that “sin is lawlessness.” In simpler words, sin is a tragedy because it separates us from God; the Father that loves us beyond words.

Friends, I cannot begin to explain how much He loves you. It truly breaks my heart to know that so many of you doubt that—or don’t fully grasp the beautiful truth. The King of Heaven knows your name. You are loved beyond the stars. Not because you have done anything to deserve it, but because He wants you despite the flaws. I do not have words to express the unfathomable love of Yahweh—because it is so beyond human expression—but this, this love, is what makes sin a tragedy.

Because there is nothing worth your time, your heart, your life, aside from your Creator’s love. If you forget Whose you are, you will forget who you are created to be. And that is a tragedy. A deep, raw, awful tragedy.

Sin is a tragedy because it contradicts the love we were created to live in and pursue. Sin is a tragedy because it rips us away from the One who defines our identity.

My friends, it is time we realized this scarring, ugly truth. The truth that sin is a tragedy.

Fellow Believers, Hate Your Sin

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

The world is broken and naturally evil because of the fall (Genesis 3). Therefore, we are to not conform to the sin that so destructively thrives in this life. Instead, we should seek our Father’s help for strength and guidance to honor and glorify Him as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

Later in Romans 12, verse 9 says, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

If we are to live in love, we must hate the sin that separates us from the love of God. God is love (1 John 4:8) and He abhors sin. It is completely against His nature. (I do want to note that this is not to imply that God is intimidated or overwhelmed by sin; Yahweh is not afraid of the messiness we cannot fix on our own. He is saddened, not shocked.)

So, I challenge you: pray for a passion that burns so strong that you are truly, completely, utterly, disgusted by your sin.

Do understand, I’m not encouraging you to beat yourself up or start a list of all your flaws. Quite the opposite. I deeply want you to understand who you were created to be and the beauty of it. The beauty of this endless love that you were created in. I want you to understand this heartbreaking reality; that sin is a tragedy.

A tragedy that is worth fighting.

And you want the truth? You won’t win.

Not here. Not in this lifetime.

But don’t give up. Just keep placing it in God’s hands. Keep looking to Him. Keep whispering, “Lord, I need You.”

Because He already won.