Non-Sinnerhood

Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him. (Psalm 62:1 NIV)

I love to sing.  Much of my life has been spent being part of a choir of some sort... all 4 years of high school (two groups in my senior year) and most of my church life has been spent in either/both the ensemble and/or the chancel choir.  I sing to the car radio.  I sing in the shower.  I plug my Ipod into speakers, turn it up loud and sing along with all my favorites songs when I clean house.

The problem is:  My singing voice is only "ok."  People don't tend to request me to sing solos or urge me to join their choirs.  My passion for singing and my ability to sing just don't match.  How I envy those who have that talent!  I listen to artists and wish I could hold a note like that; or reach that note with such force and clarity; or have that distinct and pleasing sound.  Not everyone can sing beautifully enough to attract an audience, but there are many who can.  I'm just not one of them.

But I am part of another group that includes everyone else on earth:  Not singers, but sinners.  Every single one of us struggles with sin.  There is no elite group of "Non sinners" to aspire to.  No one can get up on stage and tell us that through many years of "sinless lessons" and hours of practice every day that have become non sinners.

It is so ironic though... even though every single one of us sins, we take a perverse joy in pointing out the sin of others.... and it seems that sins of a sexual nature takes precidence in being pointed out.  Promiscuity, adultery and homosexuality top the list of sins others take pleasure in reviling in their neighbor; while gluttony and other sins of not taking care of our bodies, being poor stewards of the earth, gossipping and other "acceptable" sins are overlooked.

Perhaps we overlook those sins that we ourselves struggle with, while we condemmn those sins that have never tempted us... or that we have at least never been caught at.  Why is it that we continue to poke at the speck in our neighbors' eyes and never examine that plank sticking out of our own?  That is a sin in itself, and if we could begin to just address and focus on eliminating the sin of judgment, it would go a long way toward at least becoming closer to that imaginary elite group of Non Sinners.

We will never reach "Non-sinnerhood"  but our salvation is secure because as Jesus explained to his disciples about the difficulty of reaching heaven, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Father,
Thank you for making it possible for this sinner to enter your kingdom.  Help me to focus on the plank in my own eye, for if we each did this, our world would improve by leaps and bounds!  Amen.

Joys:  time with both my grandchildren yesterday; grilled cheese sandwiches; beautiful Fall weather with gorgeously blue skies