Sinful housework

[ILG]

Originally Posted by MarieA27

The thing that I think is a hangup for people, is that they keep feeling that if a temptation comes their way, then they have sinned, and that is simply not so, because if that was the case, then Jesus would have been far from perfect.

This is true, Marie. Sometimes people feel guilty when they don't have to and castigate themselves for being human. Being human is not a sin and being tempted is not a sin. I think we need to also feel compassion for ourselves. We have been told too long that giving ourselves anything good must be wrong, or it wouldn't feel good. That somehow, feeling good about ourselves is sin. I believe that is a lie. There is, of course, a place where we can go too far with these thoughts, but, in my opinion, many more need to feel that compassion and give themselves a break.

[KeptByTheWord]

Originally Posted by ILG

This is true, Marie. Sometimes people feel guilty when they don't have to and castigate themselves for being human. Being human is not a sin and being tempted is not a sin. I think we need to also feel compassion for ourselves. We have been told too long that giving ourselves anything good must be wrong, or it wouldn't feel good. That somehow, feeling good about ourselves is sin. I believe that is a lie. There is, of course, a place where we can go too far with these thoughts, but, in my opinion, many more need to feel that compassion and give themselves a break.

Amen. Our thoughts and desires are not sin, unless we entertain them in our minds, until they turn into actions that are determined to be sin by the word of God. And there is such a thing as righteous anger, as one verse says "Be ye angry and sin not". So, yes there is a balance here, that can slip too far one way or the other.

Thank you for making this point!