In this week's reading, we talked about Confessions by Saint Augustine. The second chapter made me think about how he questioned every little sin he ever committed (like stealing pears). At first I thought, "Why is he writing about even the small, 'insignificant' sins?" I thought he would focus on the "big" sins (like murder, prostitution, rape, etc.) In contrast, I did not realize that Augustine had the right mindset. I believe Augustine strived to uncategorize sin. I find this is important since our human nature likes for us to separate people based off our personal rating of what sins are worse than others. To God all sins are equal, so stealing pears is not any worse than murder. I want to strive to be like Augustine and be less judgmental and more accepting of others regardless of their past mistakes.
In conjunction, Augustine was having an open relationship with God and others since he was confessing all of his sins. God tells us to hold each other accountable for all sins including the "small" ones that go unseen. Galatians 6:1-2 says, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." The Christian walk is an everyday faith since we are called to show the love of Christ in our actions. Everything from the words we speak to the clothes we wear can be a testimony of who we belong to-- God. We do not have to write a book about our sins to realize how broken we are, so we should live our lives in daily repentance to God.
As a Christian, I admire Augustine's bravery for talking about his insecurities to the public (especially since he was a pope). I believe our human nature propels us to talk about our strong moments in our lives instead of our greatest faults. Sometimes, our greatest faults are our best testimony for God since we can relate to others and be a shining light for Him. Thank you, Augustine, for not caring about what the world thinks and for realizing we are all made in the image of God.
I commented on Ian and Rachel's blogs.
I really liked how you wrote about the 'insignificant' sins and how we are so apt to miss them because we are so focused on the obvious ones. To us, Augustine stealing pears from someone else's tree while no was looking seems like what we call a "gray area". Indeed, the gray areas are going to be where the enemy gets us the most-the areas in which he doesn't get us to "big sin" but to instead slowly compromise inch by inch.
ReplyDeleteI think you have encapsulated the overall impression that I have gotten from this work, which is that I need to do better in my devotion time. All of the things that Augustine writes about and what you accented are things that every Christian should already know through their own personal walk; I guess that is another reason for writing the book, to incite a personal revival.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I would just like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed your title! I bet Dr. Abernathy would approve as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you addressed this de-categorization of sins. Today especially we tend to cling to a sort of hierarchy of wrongdoing, sweeping aside many of the "smaller" sins. It is important to remember that, in God's eyes, stealing pears is just as offensive as murder, even if we don't like to admit it. By discrediting this so-called sin hierarchy, Augustine really challenged people to reexamine their both their lives and their choices.
I frequently feel like I, and the church as a whole, tend to do an inadequate job of de-categorizing sins. I so often see the church turn some people away for committing a certain sin, but welcoming others whose sins are just as equal. That is something that has always bothered me and I just love that Augustine truly grasps and embraces the concept of all being equal.
ReplyDeleteIt is so easy to forget that all our sins are equal in the eyes of God. Part of this comes from only certain things being punished by the law(praise God because I am a sinner) and part of it comes from our pride. We tend to see ourselves as better than others because our sins are "lesser." I found it fascinating and humbling that Augustine discussed his sin as a baby. His cries for attention, the stress which he upon those who cared for him just because he did not get what he wanted, he described as sin, and he is right. We are born into sin, and sin even when we don't know it. Praise God for His forgiveness because if He did not forgive, I'd be in BIG trouble.
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