From abstract to concrete: sin

February 23, 2022 (Wednesday)

 

King David was a poet who put images to abstracts. When we think of “sin” we tend to imagine them as harmless, at least immediately. All through the Bible, the images are very different. Psalm 38 is the cry of one who is under conviction and feels the pain and weight of sin. Let’s take a look.

 

We talk a lot about grace, but mercy is the other hand. David prays, “Please, Lord, don’t punish me when you are mad; don’t discipline me when you are furious.” [Psalm 38:1 CEB] As king, I’m guessing David has heard the pleas of the panicked condemned as they stood before him. Notice David’s prayer at this point is not about escaping deserved punishment. He just does not want to be punished in anger or fury.

 

David continues by framing sin and the consequences of sin in physical terms, “Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.” [Psalm 38:3 NLT] I need to caution the reader at this point: not all sickness is because of sin. Sickness can be a result of sin, but the connections are concrete and clear.

 

David continues, “My wrongdoings are stacked higher than my head; they are a weight that’s way too heavy for me.” [Psalm 38:4 CEB] This image is what it might look like if our sins were recorded in books and stacked in front of us.

 

How about this image? “My wounds reek; they are all infected because of my stupidity.” [Psalm 38:5 CEB] I’ve used addiction as an image for sin. Here David uses stupidity. This stupidity causes wounds, generally not seen, to become infected and reek. In a very real sense, sin is like gangrene the slowly rots away our substance.

 

David continues the image, “I am bent over and racked with pain.” [Psalm 38:6a NLT] He keeps rolling, “A raging fever burns within me.” [Psalm 38:7a NLT] And, “I am exhausted and completely crushed.” [Psalm 38:8a NLT] Ever have pain in your neck or back? Ever have a fever that zapped you of every bit of strength? Ever feel beyond your physical endurance?

 

There are a few more images, but David does not deny sin. This is the important part about how we handle sin. David prays, “But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.” [Psalm 38:28 NLT] David understands the serious danger sin puts him in before the court of God’s justice. He feels the pain. He confesses the sins. He deeply regrets his actions, attitudes, and words.

 

It seems we are in a very dangerous place when we do not feel what should be the alarming potential consequences of our sins. We comfortably, stubbornly, and possibly arrogantly, charge full speed ahead with our sin. Describing the final days, Paul explains to Timothy, “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” [1 Timothy 4:2 KJV]

 

When we sin, it should feel like we just touched something very hot. If we do not feel this alarm, this pain, this urgency then be afraid… very afraid.