Naming it for what it is

Sometimes you and I just need to name something for what it is.

 

Politicians have their "spin" on events; they have people on their staffs whose whole occupation is to put a positive spin on some kind of negativity in the campaign.

 

People put their own spin on different actions that they have participated in through rationalization or redefining what they did by comparing it to others doing the same thing.  Or it is not "hurting anyone." 

 

We as followers of Christ use our "spin" as well when it comes to words such as "sin."

 

We don't like to use the word "sin". 

 

We use synonyms because we think that if we say "sin" some people will label us as a traditional old super Christian Bible thumpers (I went through this phase a few years back - wanting to be "friendly" to the non-churched).

 

Here are the words we use instead:  Junk.  Failures.  Baggage.  Hang-ups.  Challenges.  Struggles.  Mistakes.  Issues.  Problems.

 

Jonathan Acuff has written, "I work in the corporate world, where you're supposed to put a spin on bad things.  You're supposed to say, "I found an opportunity for improvement," not, "I made a mistake."  You should say, "I have identified some growth areas in my performance," not, 'I figured out why that project I presented caught on fire in the conference room."

 

He further explains, "But when Jesus died on the cross he didn't do so because he wanted to "shift my paradigm."  He didn't come to help me "realize my full potential" and "Unpack my baggage."  Or "overcome my hang-ups".  "Or recalenderize my Q1."

 

Great stuff for a Tuesday. 

 

You see, maybe, just maybe, we should go back to naming it for what it is - sin.