Tiny Devotional for RED Friday, 07-14-2023 (Remember Everyone Deployed!)

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, Piper and Bailey want a cookie.

Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is good will.
Proverbs 14:9, NASB

The word translated here as ‘sin’ is אָשָׁם  ('āšām), and it’s used 46 times in the Old Testament. 43 of those occurrences translate as ‘sin offering.’  Other words translated as ‘sin’ aren’t associated with sin offerings, but this one is.

Do WE believe in/make sin offerings?

We may not call it that; but: 

Have you ever bought your spouse flowers after a ‘heated disagreement’? Or, give them a back rub?

Did you ever take your kid for ice cream, when you weren’t able to make it to their ball game?

Those are sin offerings. 


For those of us who are following a 12 Step program, fully ½ of the Steps (4-9) have the concept of sin offering at their core, leading to  making direct amends to people we have harmed.

When done correctly, a sin offering shows repentance for our bad acts, and our willingness to make it right. The flowers aren’t the end of the transaction; they just open the door.

The sin offering does provide a tangible benefit to the person harmed, but the main beneficiary is the person making the offering. As I made amends in my recovery program, I realized I was freed from a crushing emotional burden. I no longer had to obsess over things in the past, because I had dealt with them. I enjoyed the new-found good will, and still do.

Fools scoff at that, because they think it’s humiliation, destroying their dignity.

It’s not humiliation! 

It’s HUMILITY. 

Nothing dignifies us more than that.

Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. CedarJuly 14, 2023 at 6:43 AM

    Thank you for writing these, Pat. I really enjoy the moment to stop and think about the verse and message.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 14, 2023 at 8:03 AM

    Great message today! Your post always give good insight into the verse and how to use it!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 14, 2023 at 8:14 AM

    Anonymous 🦄 likes

    ReplyDelete
  4. TommyJuly 14, 2023 at 8:32 AM

    I agree, making amends is freeing. We’ll said.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 14, 2023 at 10:26 AM

    Great insight into the Word Pat! Thanks for these!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJuly 15, 2023 at 4:10 AM

    Mylon here. That was one of my favorites. I had issue with that verse before. The two seemed unrelated but it make sense now. As a former mocker I loved sin. Lived it, rocked it but I did not mock it. I mocked God and Jesus specifically and the f’ing Christian do gooders. Makes sense so spank you very much.

    If I should happen to ever sin against anyone I hope I will consider the sin offering. ✌️

    ReplyDelete
  7. On Christ the Solid Rock I StandJuly 18, 2023 at 12:24 AM

    Amen my Brother Pat, the idea of sin offering is biblical and is always true. Praise God for it!

    ReplyDelete

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