Sin or Mistake?

We carefully change many or our words to take the severity of what we have done. For example, I have heard people say they made mistakes rather than sinned. Is there a difference?

Absolutely! Sometimes I hear someone say, "He just made a mistake" when they are referring to a guy who robbed the bank. I want them to understand why that is not a mistake. It is a sin.

A mistake is an error when you are trying to do something right. I might make a mistake in my checkbook. I could make a mistake and take a wrong exit off the freeway. I make mistakes when my goal is to do something good and I accidently get it wrong.

Sin is when I know something is wrong and I choose to either ignore my conscience or I just do it anyway. We don't make mistakes if we steal from our employers, cheat on our spouses or knowingly hurt other people. We sin.

A mistake is something that comes from deviating from what we desire. We wanted to get to our destination quickly but our wrong turn kept us from doing so. We wanted to know exactly what we have in the bank but our error in math prevented this.

Sin is a violation of a law outside of ourselves. These universal rules are embedded in our sense of right and wrong. We receive this because we are made in the image of God. You can try to ignore this and say it isn't true but you can't escape the truth or even the feeling of guilt.

Since God is holy, sin distances us from God. It grieves the Holy Spirit. It makes a void in our life. That place created for God is left empty. When the excitement of the sin dissipates we are left feeling very lonely.

I don't say these words as one who points his finger as others and says, "Straighten up there. You are bad and I am not." No, I am one of these people who has sinned. I am one who has gone to God for forgiveness so many times that I really don't think He should forgive me one more time. But I know He will.

It is time for us to see the difference between mistakes and sin. Then, maybe we will realize why Jesus had to come die on a cross. Sin needs forgiveness. And by His blood we are all forgiven.