Monday, September 24, 2018

TIM Good morning, I’m Tim Wise, Senior Adult Minister and Sanctuary Choir Director at Central. Many of us are familiar with the first sin in the Bible, the decision to disobey God and give in to the temptation of the serpent. But are we aware of the second sin? The second sin may be one that is more important than the first because we can’t recover from the first sin as long as we are guilty of the second sin. So, what is the second sin? It’s the sin of excuses. It's our inability to face ourselves and confess our sins. Adam and Eve always had someone or something else to blame their first sin on. Adam blamed his decision on the woman and the woman blamed her decision on the serpent. Mistakes or sins aren’t what destroy us. It’s our inability to face ourselves. If a ballplayer can’t catch a ball, there is still hope for him if he says, “I must be doing something wrong” and asks for help. There is little hope for the ballplayer who diverts the fault to field conditions, the sun being in their eyes, or even someone else. The secret here is we must acknowledge our faults and be willing to learn from them. As long as we excuse our failure to learn, we destroy the learning process altogether. Whatever you do this day and in the days to come, don’t die making excuses. Acknowledge who you are, what you have done, and be willing to learn from your mistakes.