God relates to his children corporately and personally. Thus, in defining sin, one must conclude that sin is a willful disruption (either corporately or personally) of God’s attempts to love and relate to his creation. Considering this twofold dynamic of sin, it is logical to conclude that whenever a person sins personally, the consequences that result can be felt corporately; likewise, when a group sins corporately, the results can still manifest personally.
Concerning this latter hypothetical, I bring this to mind because I’ve begun to realize that the consequences of my personal sin (that is, my sin against none but God) do not affect only me. Rather, because they affect me, they affect everyone around me.
Thus, the essential pride that stands as the center of my sin isn’t so merely because my eyes fix on myself rather than God (though that were reason enough). It is also thus because my eyes fix on myself rather than others.
SRay
June 27th, 2007 at 3:10 pm
This is a great reminder of the oneness of the body of Christ; our failure to keep our eyes on him is always farther reaching than we immediately recognize. When we place our own pleasure and/or pursuits above those to which he calls us (the essence of sin), we fail to serve our co-laborers in Christ and cease to reflect his glory to the darkness.