When we become unable to mourn over our sin, we are morally doomed!
One night my ten year old son called me to his room. It was almost 10:30—two hours past his bedtime. As I walked up the winding stairs, I could hear him crying softly in the darkness. When I opened the door, I could see moonlight reflected from cheeks wet with tears.
“What’s the matter, Matthew?” I asked quietly.
“Today I said some things that offended the Lord,” he said. “Would you pray with me that God would forgive me for what I said?”
I didn’t ask what it was he’d said. Even if it was horrible, God would forgive it. And even if it was trivial, it was still serious to Matthew. I knelt beside his bed and we prayed together until he felt comforted.
As I walked back to my bedroom I prayed, “Lord, don’t let me lose the heart of a child. Don’t let me get so cold and calloused that I forget how to mourn over things that offend You.
Paul speaks of people who have “lost all sensitivity” Ephesians 4:19. They are past feeling. Their consciences no longer sting when they break the law of God. It’s a dangerous position to be in. Our consciences are supposed to hurt when we sin. It’s how God alerts us to the need for repentance.
Socrates described conscience, as the spouse from whom there is no divorce. Maybe we can’t divorce our consciences, but we can stifle them until their voices are silent. Then we have, in Paul’s words, “lost all sensitivity.”
Remember Father Damien, the leper priest? In answer to God’s call, he became a missionary to the lepers on the island of Molokai. For thirteen years he lived among them as their teacher, their companion and their friend.
At last the dread disease laid hold of him. One morning he spilled some boiling water on his foot and felt not the slightest hint of pain. Then he knew—he was doomed. The loss of feeling was proof that leprosy had conquered.
It is the same with us. When we become unable to mourn over our sin, we are morally doomed.
What about you? When you sin, does your conscience trouble you? Then be glad. Happy are those who mourn over wrongdoing, for they are truly alive!
Source: Being Happy in an Unhappy World
Daily Living
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