I am in a Bible Study on spirituality and this week’s topic is sin which is the Bible word for the opposite of right. The material delved into three types: wrongs we commit, wrongs committed against us and environmental wrongness. That in itself could keep us going for weeks. 

Then it went into layers of intentionality. 1. Gross Sins, or the major actions that leave a wake of pain and chaos. 2. Conscious sins, things we know cross a line, but do anyway 3. Unconscious sins, things that we do, or fail to do, that hurt others even if they aren’t intentioned to cause suffering. 4. Attachment to things we focus on to bring happiness outside of God which the material defined as idolatry. This sin is prioritizing created things over the Creator.

Most people want to be good people or at least thought of well.  Even if our intention is to be happy people that get along with others, we often end up as hurt people that hurt others. We are motivated by our needs and wants. We seek pleasure and comfort, and avoid pain and discomfort. We prioritize our own needs over the needs of others, as we can feel our own pain and deprivation and but do not feel the pain and deprivation of others. 

Let’s use the act of driving to illustrate sin. Types: my driving violations, others’ driving violations, traffic in general. Then intentionality: 1. Willfully driving into a crowd. 2. Intentionally cutting someone off to get ahead. 3. Driving three miles with your blinker on, but never turning. 4. Not understanding that by being in a car on the road, you are the traffic.