Sinning and Failing

I was reminded last night of the difference between sinning and failing. I sin and I am a sinner, yet I can fail and not be a failure.

It occurred to me that this is the crux of why often the wisdom of men makes them unable to accept the Gospel. They can instinctively grasp the fact that they can do and action and not be an action (although there are many who can do an action repeatedly yet believe they are not controlled by it i.e. addicts, alcoholics, etc.), but they then founder on the concept that there is a thing - sin - which is so deeply bound up in our spirits and souls that we are the root and cause of the action. We are sinners - yes, we are sinned against, but we sin against as well.

And the Gospel calls us to this basic truth, to accept this basic truth, because only in acknowledging it and accepting the reality of it can the Gospel be seen as the great and necessary gift that it is. If we are not sinners - individuals who at our core are so corrupt that no matter what we do it is tainted and an offense to God - then we do not need a Saviour. But if we are, then the Gospel because the great unmerited gift that it truly is.

And this is, in the end, why all efforts of self-improvement and positive attitudes will break down: we can be many things, but if we cannot grapple with the basic underlying truth, the entire structure is built on a flawed foundation, just waiting for the disaster (natural or otherwise) to make it crack.