Psalm 119:139 – I am overwhelmed with indignation, for my enemies have disregarded your words. (NLT)

Listening to the evening news is enough to make anyone mad at sin.

Consider these reports: A police officer intentionally shooting and killing a man. A man shooting his parents and then going to a local business to kill his ex-girlfriend, too. A woman discarding her unwanted child in the trash dumpster. Tons of pollution ascending into the air that people breathe or descending into fresh water sources that people drink. Radical religious sects beheading individuals just because they're from another religious tradition. A local animal shelter displaying pictures of cats and dogs severely abused by their owners, especially kittens and puppies that can't fend for themselves.

In biblical times, the nation of Israel had any number of enemies who wanted to subdue her, rule over her, and steal her treasures: Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Syrians, Edomites, Philistines. They surrounded her with a web of evil and couldn't wait to draw her in, roll her up, and administer the death sting. Like Goliath with David, they wanted to feed her flesh to the birds of the air.

Sin causes us anguish because it infringes on our rights, the rights of others, and on the good plan that God has for His earth. While the earth itself has been affected by sin, it is the sinful people who live here that infest it with sinful practices.

But sin, rather than the sinner, is what must be the object of our anger. Jesus didn't get mad at people; He got angry over the sinful deeds that they committed. He loved criminals, prostitutes, thieves, the religious left, and the religious right. He extended to all the privilege of becoming God's children and of having their sinful actions and attitudes transformed into godly ones. And He still does.

Sin should anger us, but we should never get angry at the one sinning. Except for the grace of God, we might be walking in their shoes. Do you hate sin but love the sinner?

Prayer: Father, enable us to get angry over sin but at the same time to love the sinner. Amen.

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About the author:

Martin Wiles <mandmwiles@gmail.com>
Greenwood, South Carolina, USA
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