We are suffering because we think we're separate. Sin is separation.
This week I found myself disgusted with Officer Chauvin’s crushing the life out of George Floyd. I observed myself thinking, “Unlike that guy, I was raised in the United Church of Christ under a colorful banner of equality, fairness and benevolence.” Then I spoke to a dear friend who is currently in Minneapolis visiting her mother, and—by a Grace-filled connection the mind cannot see--I realized that what was happening in Minnesota, was happening in me. Separation. Sin.
One generation of us Americans after another has avoided, denied, tolerated, or been overwhelmed by the sin of racism. When I say, “I’m doing just fine; it’s those people, or that guy, who has a problem, not me,” and I deny that I’m suffering--that I have a problem with racism--in that moment I create more suffering in the world by separating myself from what’s going on…for us all.
Literally translated from the ancient Greek in which the New Testament was written, to sin means to miss the mark, like when the dart misses the board altogether. You could say that to sin means to miss the point of human life: to serve and bless the intrinsic connectedness of every living creature and all natural phenomena.
And yet, this is the human condition, missing the mark. By it’s nature, the ego identifies with thought forms (money, debt, insurance, political party, gender, body type, emotional state), and then sees nothing but difference out there. The more you identify (in your moment-to-moment experience) with external forms, the more your are unaware and miss the point of your connection with the whole shebang and with the Source of all.
In an article on www.worldblessings.com entitled “What is God’s Purpose for me?” the author writes: “Open yourself to the longing in your heart, pray deeply to know God's purpose for your life, and you will begin to see and feel and experience new revelations in your own understanding of who you are. As you move into a more conscious alignment with God's purpose for your life, greater light will begin to fill your body, mind and consciousness. This light brings healing both to yourself, and to all others that you may encounter. It even blesses the very Earth that you stand upon, and gives a unique and special gift to God and to all of life."
Get out of your mind. Double down on your spiritual practices. It's one of the best things you can do for the world right now. We don’t realize how often we are using this tool--the mind--in inappropriate ways, like I did when I thought myself different from Derek Chauvin. I repent in the radical hope of a harmonious day. I encourage you to do whatever it takes to live from the heart. This is what we were made for.
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