(Being) Catholic Matters

by David Lins  |  03/24/2019  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

I’m sure we’ve all heard “hate the sin, not the sinner.” It is an expression that helps us keep things in proper context and to see the world as Christ sees it. Unfortunately, we usually only apply this attitude, even on our best days, to other people.

At the start of Luke 13, Jesus calls us to repentance. Google defines this as “sincere regret or remorse.” So, the question becomes, what does Jesus want us to sincerely regret? If you read the first nine verses of Luke, the answer becomes obvious: sin.

We need to apply the phrase “hate the sin, not the sinner” not just to others, but to ourselves as well. Jesus doesn’t want us to hate who we are. We are the adopted children of our heavenly Father. There is nothing to hate about that!

We are called to hate the sin we have allowed to infect us, dampen us, and discourage us. We are called to regret the decisions we have made that have allowed this to happen. We are called to be remorseful and seek to extricate serious sin from our lives and from ourselves through God’s grace and the sacrament of reconciliation. We are called to realize we were made for more and to despise anything that holds us back from that! We were made to produce good fruit!

We weren’t merely made to agree to follow Jesus once. That is not relationship. Relationship is renewing our vow daily. It is effort put forth daily. It is dying to ourselves daily. We were made to wake up every single morning with excitement, saying the words, “What do you have for me today? And what can I do for you in return?”

It is crucial for us to remember: God gets no satisfaction when we beat ourselves up. He would rather help rid us of the sin that is brutalizing our souls.

Questions? Comments? Email David at dlins@oloj.org