The Phenomenon of Sin - A Lenten Reflection

THE PHENOMENON OF SIN – A LENTEN REFLECTION

Mario D’Couto

            In this season of lent, I thought of sharing something that touches me personally and some of the insights that I have gained through reading and experience. In trying to live out our lives, it is but natural that human as we are, we would fall down. Yet that does not mean we should give up. Christ is our example in this regard who showed us that only in conversation with God can afflicted souls find refuge given the number of hours He spent in prayer besides His public ministry. Human life is a constant struggle, not only as a quest for survival or making ends meet but on a deeper level, it is about being the person that God wants us to be.

            The irony of sin is that there is a hidden good present inside it. No one commits evil for its own sake. St. Augustine speaks about this by illustrating his own personal experience of stealing peaches from his neighbour’s garden in his classic, “Confessions”. What’s interesting about this was that he did this, not because he was hungry or not because someone was desperately in need of it. It was for the sheer pleasure of stealing, that is to say, it was the excitement that accompanied taking something from someone else’s place.

            Human beings desire only good things. We want what is sweet to taste, what is comfortable, what makes us more free, what removes difficulties from our lives. Moreover, all these things are good because God has created them that way, “And God saw everything that He had made and behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:3) All the things in the world share, in some way, in God’s glory. Every artwork bears the distinctive mark of its artist, so every creature is a manifestation of a natural sacrament of the Creator. It is the sample of divine glory that makes the things of this world so attractive to us. Sins are thus caused out of an immoderate liking for material things.

            Using the example of our first parents, we can say that the tree of good and evil was not bad in itself as it is noted in Genesis that “the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise” (Gen 3:6). However, God had commanded our first parents to sacrifice those goods for a higher good, which they did not. The fruit was not evil but their disobedience certainly was.

            Another interesting fact about the phenomenon of sin is that self – preservation and hunger are deep – seated animal instincts, for which the body produces internal physical responses. Yet one does not find this in the case of faith, hope and love. There is no ‘gland’ so to say that indicates the void or the need for such qualities.

            Apparently, this may seem to put our human condition in a bad light, like as though there is no hope at all or that we are to be ‘doomed’. However, the truth is, God does not dwell in a soul which He does not first inflame with a love of Him and charity for others, for Christ Himself said He came to set the world on fire. It is up to us respond.

            Human freedom is something we need to understand. We can make or break ourselves based on the way we use this unique ability which is why we are unique in God’s creation. Satan plays on this very well and is very crafty in this regard. There is a nice analogy which St. Francis De Sales uses to illustrate this phenomenon of sin and virtue. According to him, both operate in the same way, that is to say, in as much as God does not force us to do good, the evil one cannot force us to do evil. When a man tries to woo a woman, he cannot just say ‘I love you’ or ‘I want to marry you’. It is a gradual process. It is only by getting to know the person and gaining the confidence of the other that he can ‘drop the bomb’. Something similar happens when it comes to virtue and sin. God always offers His grace, love and mercy but He will never force us to respond; that is in our hands. Likewise, the same applies for the temptation to sin. Satan does not have direct access to our will but he can tempt us and he is smart at it. If we are to depend on our own strength, we will perish (let’s not forget that he too was an angel of God at one time). It is only by God’s grace that we can overcome the enemy. A good example to cite in this regard was when St. Peter gave a huge assurance to our Lord that he was willing to die with Jesus. We all know what happened to him after that. The reliance on his own strength led to his shameful fall by denying our Lord three times. How true it is that we can neither propose nor execute any good, unless if supported by the Almighty.

            This is the hard truth that we all have to accept: that ultimately we are nothing. When our Lord was confronted by Pilate where He was told that he had the power to release Him or crucify Him, Jesus apt response says it all, “You have no power over Me if it were not given from above.”

            It is important to realize that falling down should not deter us on our path to spiritual fulfilment. Rather, what is important is to get up. Discouragement has always been the devil’s greatest weapon. It is his entry to destroy our lives.

            The tempter of pious souls often magnifies the imperfections, persuading the faithful to their duties, imperfect in confessions, tepid in Holy Communion and deficient in prayer. Thus with various scruples he keeps them in constant alarm, seeking to distract them from their exercise as if God had forgotten or forsaken them. However, God only expects patience and perseverance. For the patience of such a soul is a prayer in itself, prevailing more with God than any prayers said with great emotional fervour. Hence, we should never forsake any work of piety, however disinclined religiously we may find ourselves.


            This, in other words, is to say that it is good to be tempted. The reason precisely being that God uses it as a way of bringing us close to Himself. The very fact that we feel remorse after having done something wrong indicates that there is something good about temptations. St. John Vianney would say that the devil only tempts those souls that wish to abandon sin and those that are in a state of grace. The others belong to him; he has no need to tempt them. Another statement of this that goes on similar lines is that the greatest of all evils is not to be tempted because then that could be an indication that the devil looks upon us as his property. What is important, therefore, is not to get discouraged and keep fighting the good fight.  

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