Sin: Who is Wronged?

Who is Wronged?
Next, who are the different parties that one can wrong?

The easy answer is 1. God, 2. others, or 3. yourself. David Drury mentioned in an earlier comment that some also make a distinction in number two between 2a) other Christians and 2b) non-Christians.

I make these distinctions so we don't miss out on any kind of wrongdoing. Regardless of the answer, we want to ask questions like "Will God hold us accountable for damage we've done to our own bodies in one way or another?" Similarly, some are so focused on sins toward others that they might miss out the possibility that there are wrongs we might do toward God that don't directly hurt ourselves or others. My purpose in this entry is not so much to assess the level of guilt or of punishment for different types of wrongdoing. My purpose is merely to think about all the different kinds of wrongdoing.

So what are wrongs we might commit toward God? I would say that all wrongdoing either directly or indirectly wrongs God. If I hurt some innocent person, I am offending God both because of His revealed commands and because Christians believe humanity was made in God's image. God says, "You mess with one of mine; you mess with Me."

Do I wrong God when I do not do my part to defend the defenseless of all kinds? When I do not "feed the poor" of all kinds? The orphan, the widow, the unborn? Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats would say yes. Some here might make a distinction between those in the church and those outside. Both still fit thus far in our rubric of overall wrongdoing.

By extention, I wrong God on some level by disregarding myself. I can do this physically of course. I can wrong myself by overworking or chain smoking or going on alcoholic binges, and these wrongings of myself indirectly wrong God by treating His creation with less than what it deserves. I can wrong God by undervaluing myself, treating an individual God loves with less than the respect one of His creations deserves.

A real place of growth I think would be to realize how we might wrong God in ways that do not wrong others or myself. An easy extension of my above comments is in the way we treat God's creation. Flagrant disregard for God's creation is an improper attitude toward something God has made and blessed. I continue to puzzle at so many American Christians who seem to have a kind of militant anti-environmentalism. A common sense care for God's creation seems obviously Christian to me. The fanatic environmentalists are not my point. My point is simply, doesn't it glorify God to be good stewards of His creation?

How else might I wrong God? Does homosexual practice wrong God? The Bible asserts that it does. Male homosexual practice also often harms the bodies of those involved. Other than the physical consequences, I'm not sure how else it might harm others or ourselves. Perhaps someone knows a psychological argument they could share. But regardless, the Bible asserts that it wrongs God if not indirectly, then directly as disobedience to His command.

We can wrong God by not giving Him His due as well as by disobeying His commands. An area that drives us to ponder long and hard is how we might wrong God by not giving Him His due. His due is everything. His due is absolute. How could anyone possibly ever give God His due?

These are things for us to reflect on as we go forward...