ODJ: sin and self-worth
January 20, 2011
God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
READ: 2 Samuel 16:5-14
A youth pastor avoids telling his teenagers that they’re sinners because he doesn’t want to leave the impression that they “suck” (that they’re bad or worthless). A popular author denies that infants are born with a sin nature because that would mean that “babies suck.” And a friend who confessed to an especially offensive sin said, “I guess this means I suck.” Despite their juvenile descriptions of sin, notice that each person confuses sin with self-worth. They assume that sin means they no longer matter, when in fact their sin matters only if they do. Sin is rebellion, and rebellion is a problem only when the rebel carries some weight. If we really were worthless, our sin wouldn’t count for much. When King David was fleeing Jerusalem, he met Shimei, an enraged loner from Saul’s dethroned family who hurled stones and insults at the king’s entourage (2 Samuel 16:9). David’s men wanted to crush Shimei, but David told them to leave him alone, in part because he was not a threat (v.10). Far different was David’s response to Absalom’s army. He knew that those men could destroy him and his kingdom, and so David threw all of his weapons at them in the fight of his life (18:1-2). God isn’t threatened by our rebellion, but the cross informs us that He takes us and our sin seriously. If we had no value, would God have given His life to save us? The cost of our salvation reminds us that we and our sin matter to God. If we minimize our sin, we also minimize ourselves and the salvation which rescues us. The surest way to tell someone they’re worthless is to ignore their sin. Treat them like a Shimei whose rebellion is of no account. If you want them to know they matter, you’re going to have to talk about sin. —Mike Wittmer
Which is the best version of the hymn “At the Cross?” The original line that Jesus died “for such a worm as I” or the revised “for sinners such as I”?
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