Spirituality
Sin
quick ideas about sin. Characteristics of an offense. Types of offense. Gravity of sins. Consequences of sins.
EspañolA. What is sin?
1. When is an action bad?
There are several ways of saying the same thing. An action is bad when: it is contrary to the will of God, it opposes the true good of man, it goes against the proper laws of human nature (natural law).
2. Are those three aspects the same thing?
They coincide: the Creator desires the true good of men, and created us with a way of being that is perfected by fulfilling his laws. Going against that Will is equivalent to going against our own nature and harming ourselves. These bad actions are called sins.
3. How to know if a specific action is good?
In addition to sincere reflection, it is advisable to ask a good Christian who understands these matters; and to consult encyclicals and other documents of the Popes, for example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
4. Then, what is sin? It is a voluntary act opposed to the law of God (it may be internal, external and even an omission). It is harmful to man and an offense against God.
B. Offenses
1. Definition and types
An offense is a damage to the honor or dignity of a person. They may be of various kinds: a) According to how they are committed: . active: mockery, contempt, insults,...: direct attacks on someone's dignity. . passive: neglect, indifference, carelessness,...: failing to give the attention and honor that are due. b) According to whom they are directed: . direct: they go against the person himself. . indirect: they harm those loved by that person: children, family, friends, possessions.
2. Characteristics of an offense
- It is not necessary that the offended party suffer. It can be done behind their back. For example, mocking a photo or image of someone is an offense — which those present recognize — even if the person concerned never knows about it.
- There is only an offense if there is injustice. There are people who feel affronted by the slightest inattention; these cases are not real offenses but real pride. For it to be an offense it must be something unjust.
- Forgiveness of an offense requires a reparation in itself. The offended party may forgive without further ado, but justice demands some reparation that restores the damage caused. For this reason, one who offends another is not satisfied with asking for forgiveness, but feels himself a debtor and wishes to compensate for his action in some way.
C. Offenses against God
1. Types of offenses against God
- Direct: they correspond to the first three commandments. They frontally attack the dignity of God, either actively as in blasphemies, or passively as in the abandonment of worship.
- Indirect: they correspond to the other seven commandments. Here those whom God loves are mistreated — actively or passively — : men, including the sinner himself. For example, whoever takes drugs or gets drunk harms himself and therefore offends God because he mistreats someone the Lord loves greatly. He loves him so much that he died on the Cross for him.
2. Gravity of offenses
It will be greater if it is committed in the presence of the person concerned, if that person loves us greatly, and if the dignity violated is great. Offenses against God bring together these characteristics that increase their gravity. In particular, the dignity that is mistreated is very great:
- an infinite love and an infinite good are despised, substituting created goods for them.
- great gifts are despised such as divine filiation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
- the image of God that is man is damaged.
- weight is added to the Cross of Christ, who took our sins upon himself. The gravity of sins is better grasped if we recall what the reparation was like: the Son of God became man and died on the Cross.
3. Is it not strange that God remains offended?
God does not remain offended. Sins are offenses against God but they do not affect Him and He does not remain offended. (For there to be an offense it is not necessary that the offended party suffer.) Nevertheless, it can be said that sins also affect God, since they weigh on the Cross of Christ, true God.
D. Consequences of sins
1. What happens when one sins?
Any decision of the will affects the will itself, leaving it inclined toward that good or evil it chose. Our actions make us better or worse: whoever works becomes industrious, whoever steals becomes a thief. Man attains holiness by performing good actions, while "whoever sins becomes a slave of sin." This is the natural consequence of a human action: it affects us for good or for ill. It is not the same to choose good or evil. Sins lower human dignity.
2. Moreover, sin is an offense against God
and this is so serious that it makes the angels and all creation blush. The consequences are great, though different according to the gravity of the sin. If it is a minor fault — venial — love for God cools but is preserved. On the other hand, a serious offense — mortal — produces a rupture with the Lord who ceases to dwell in our soul; sanctifying grace is lost, the grace that divinizes us and makes us children of God.
3. Does justice demand some punishment?
4. Why do sufferings repair offenses committed?
In any sin there is a double evil:
- Man turns away from God. — And this is repaired with works that please the Lord; for example, apostolic actions, the offering of work, of efforts, etc.
- Man follows his own pleasures. — And this is corrected by mortifying one's own appetites through self-denial.
- Moreover, the path of reparation was marked by our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the Cross to redeem our sins.