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Are you a "sinner"?

According to Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia...

"Sin has been a term most usually used in a religious context, and today describes any lack of conformity to the will of God; especially, any willful disregard for the norms revealed by God is a sin."

It goes on to say:

"The most common formal definition is an infraction against religious or moral law."

However...

Wikipedia then says this about sin:

"Colloquially, any thought, word, or act considered faulty, shameful, harmful to oneself or to others, or which alienates self from others and especially from God, can be called a sin."

By this definition of sin, we're all "sinners", regardless of our religious or moral beliefs, aren't we?

Who hasn't done something they're not real proud of?

Who hasn't done something they wish they hadn't done?

Who hasn't done something they wish they'd done differently?

Who hasn't not done something they wish they'd done?

Pretty much includes us all, doesn't it?

Now...

The "sin", in and of itself, is usually bad enough.

However...

To make matters worse, with sin comes guilt.

Wikipedia describes guilt as...

"... an emotion experienced by people who believe they have done something wrong."

It then goes on to say this about guilt:

"In psychology and ordinary language, guilt is an affective state in which one experiences conflict at having done something one believes one should not have done."

In other words...

We feel "bad" about what we did or didn't do.

Guilt is one of the most destructive emotions you can experience.

Absolutely nothing good comes from it.

Guilt can cause all sorts of mental, physical and emotional troubles.

But that's not all...

With guilt comes the often unconscious feeling we should be punished.

More often than not, we inflict that punishment upon ourselves in the form of self-condemnation.

Self-condemnation is nothing more than self-flagellation.

In other words...

We "beat-up" on ourselves.

And...

Somehow we feel that if we beat-up on ourselves hard enough and long enough, we'll "atone" for our sin and feel better about it.

We both know that doesn't work, don't we?

Instead of feeling better, we feel worse, not only about what we did or didn't do, but also about ourselves.

And...

By dwelling upon what we did "wrong", in accordance with the laws of the Universe, we practically guarantee we'll do it again, thus starting the cycle all over.

So...

What should you do if you've "sinned"?

What should you do if you've done something you're not real proud of?

What should you do if you've done something you wish you hadn't done?

What should you do if you've done something you wish you'd done differently?

What should you do if you didn't do something you wish you'd done?

And...

How do you prevent or get rid of guilt and the resulting self-condemnation?

In a word...

Forgiveness.

You need to feel you've been forgiven!

Now, for most of us, that's a lot easier said than done.

How can you be forgiven, *really* forgiven for your "sins" - all of them?

In the early nineteen-hundreds, author Wallace D. Wattles, best known for his classic masterpiece "The Science of Getting Rich", wrote an article titled "Your Own Ability".

Wallace D. Wattles ended this article with the simplest, most practical advice I've ever read on how you can be forgiven for all your "sins" and I'd like to share it with you.

In "Your Own Ability", Wallace D. Wattles writes:

"And lastly, I want to caution you against condemning yourself on account of your sins. No matter what you have done, or how 'bad' you have been, there is just one thing to do. Forget it."

"The proper attitude for the sinner is summed up in the command, 'Go, and sin no more.' Don't stand still and sin no more; go. All your sins are forgiven, if you will only do something. Go. Do not be like a clock that has run down. Go. There is only one atonement for sin; and that is to get busy. Go. Do not think about your sin, nor speak of it, nor pray over it, nor agonize about it; go, and the harder you go the more likely it is that you will sin no more."

There you have it.

It's that simple.

So...

If you've "sinned"...

Forget it...

And...

Go, and sin no more!

Copyright 2006 Tony Mase