Monday, September 1, 2014

Attracted by sin

YES, in a sense we need to be attracted by sin. But not in
the sense of committing it nor of approving or enjoying the perks that
it gives. As much as possible, we should avoid sin like the Ebola
plague. And if there’s anything that gives us a good reason to
practice hatred, sin is it!

            Better said, we have to be attracted by sin not because of
it, but rather because of the sinner, who is still a child of God, a
brother or sister of ours, who always deserves to be loved, pardoned,
served, rescued.

            Sin, together with all the forms of evil that it produces,
should simply be the occasion to love others more, to be more
thoughtful and concerned of them. It should not be the cause and
object of our attraction.

            We have to love the sinner but hate the sin. And since the
two are together, at least for the time being, we need to be prudent,
discreet and discerning so as not to get confused and carried away by
the forces of evil rather than of the good.

            To be sure, this is the attitude of Christ himself whom we
should follow. All his teachings which he practiced all the way to the
cross consistently point to this truth. He was merciful of the
sinners, and gave special attention to them. And that’s practically
all of us since we are all sinners.

            We need to be clear about this point and skilled in
handling this situation among ourselves. Sin, because of the sinner,
should attract us if only to arouse in us desires to help, and to
trigger the appropriate action. It should not turn us off.

            In this context should we lose the fear of sin. That’s why
we have to be strong and resistant to temptations and scandal, and
properly inoculated, so to speak, so as not to be unduly affected by
sin. We have to learn how to bear all the suffering and inconveniences
involved here.

            We have to willing to get wet and dirty in our effort to
help others without compromising our spiritual life. If we have to
follow the example of Christ, then we should be willing to go to the
very gates of hell to save a soul. For this, we have to willing also
to be ‘crucified.’

            We have to see if we are developing the proper attitude,
understanding and skill in attending to this need. It can happen that
instead of growing in our concern for the others, especially in their
great moment of need as when they are in sin, we run away.

            We can rationalize that by getting involved in the
problems of others, we would unduly complicate our life. This is a
false reasoning. Complicating our life for the sake of saving a soul
would actually unleash the merciful power of God through our hands. We
would become instruments of divine mercy and at the same time would
benefit greatly from it personally.

            We just have to have faith in the all-powerful mercy of
God, and play the little part Christ would be asking us to do. We have
to keep that faith from being contaminated by the mere human
estimations of things. Let’s always remember that what is impossible
with us is always possible with God, who is also very respectful of
our freedom.

            Let’s see to it that we don’t get trapped by our initial,
spontaneous reaction of anger, repulsion and complaint whenever we see
or, worse, are affected by the sins of the others. We should try as
quickly as possible to replicate Christ’s attitude of patience,
compassion and mercy.

            For this we need to practice magnanimity, a bigness of
heart that not only can take on anything but also would motivate us to
willingly suffer for the others. For this, we have to go beyond the
limits of justice which, in the first place, cannot be perfect in our
life here on earth. It will always be in need of charity and mercy.

            All this can easily be done if we abandon ourselves
completely in the hands of God, just as Christ abandoned himself to
the will of his Father and faced his passion and death on the Cross
with equanimity. This is how to think, reason and act with faith as
primary principle, and not just with our human estimations of things.

            Whenever we see sin and evil around, and unless prudence
dictates otherwise, we should not run away, but rather face them for

the sake of the souls involved.

No comments: