Isaiah 55:7
Sin’s Cause
There are two causes leading to sin: either we don’t know our duty, or we don’t perform the duty we know. The former is the sin of ignorance, the latter of weakness.
Now, it is our duty to struggle against these things. But certainly we will be beaten in the fight unless God helps us to see our duty and to make our love of righteousness stronger than our love for earthly things.
Our eager longing for temporal things and our fear of losing them leads us with open eyes into known sin. Then we aren’t only sinners (for we are sinners even when we sin in ignorance), but we are transgressors of the Law. We leave undone what we know we should do and we do what we know we shouldn’t do.
Therefore, we should not only pray for pardon when we have sinned, saying, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” but we should pray for guidance to keep us from sinning. We should pray, “and lead us not into temptation.”
As the psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” God is my light because He removes my ignorance. He is my salvation because He takes away my weakness.
Readings taken from Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers
Sin’s Cause
There are two causes leading to sin: either we don’t know our duty, or we don’t perform the duty we know. The former is the sin of ignorance, the latter of weakness.
Now, it is our duty to struggle against these things. But certainly we will be beaten in the fight unless God helps us to see our duty and to make our love of righteousness stronger than our love for earthly things.
Our eager longing for temporal things and our fear of losing them leads us with open eyes into known sin. Then we aren’t only sinners (for we are sinners even when we sin in ignorance), but we are transgressors of the Law. We leave undone what we know we should do and we do what we know we shouldn’t do.
Therefore, we should not only pray for pardon when we have sinned, saying, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” but we should pray for guidance to keep us from sinning. We should pray, “and lead us not into temptation.”
As the psalmist says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.” God is my light because He removes my ignorance. He is my salvation because He takes away my weakness.
Readings taken from Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers
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