Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability....His master replied [to the man who secured the one bag of gold] “You wicked, lazy servant!.... So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one [who had five and earned five more]....And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:14 and following: NIV, bolding mine).
For
many human beings who wish to do the right thing and who make every
effort to do so, sin is in some sense a secondary challenge. Sin is
not their major source of fear nor does it create the undertow of
guilt and anxiety that constantly afflicts them. Christianity
affirms that Jesus died for our sins. Many can be forgiven for
wishing for a savior from the repressive aftermath of innocent
blunders and disastrous mistakes made even when trying hard and doing
one's best. In a sense, the recognition of sin is self-corrective.
When a youth I blabbed in a ridiculing way about children with Down's
syndrome. Later I discover the person I was trying to be cute in
front of had a brother with it. I was immediately convicted of the
sin and swore never to repeat it. Compare this to the chronic fear I
have of formal public speaking. I suffer greatly from fear of making
stumbling mistakes and disintegrating completely into utter
failure—of looking like an inept fool. And if I do stumble during
presentation, my self-loathing and yoke of guilt can be severe and
long-lasting—deeply caustic to my sense of self-worth. Thus,
surely not for me only, salvation from a sense of inadequacy and
fear of failure would do much to alleviate widely experienced
intellectual and emotional suffering and serve to free humanity for
productive service and happiness. To tell the truth, sometimes I
think it is a toss-up which human vulnerability—sin or innocent
failure—does the most harm to the psyche.
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