Skip to main content

All about Sin without calling it Sin

You know, or have guessed I have read a lot of books, all kinds. I am a slow reader.

Missions, Holiness, the gospel, military, fiction, thinking, literature and history are some of my reading. Recently, I finished reading a unique short novel (168 pages). It was not a “cliff hanger”, a romance, sci-fi, western, murder mystery, or humorous. There was no action, no sex, no profanity, no mention of God or anything related to Him, like grace, faith, Heaven, prayer, obedience, commandments, etc. It is made of conversations only, and it is all about “sin” (except that, that word is not used), how to recognize this “sin.” This sin is not against God. It is against the hero by the hero and all of his relatives and associates.

I recommend the book highly. Why, when the basic premise is false and the solution is also false? It is so good at recognizing and describing the exceeding sinfulness of sin and the collateral damage to everyone involved.

Although the book is humanistic, I recommend it to both Christians and those who are not yet Christians because the sin is so easily recognized.

The book is titled Leadership and Self Deception by The Arbinger Institute for $14.95.

The book is a good preparation for a book on the good news or How to be Free from Bitterness.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Jim,

I've listened to that book! Leadership and Self Deception by The Arbinger Institute for $14.95. I sent it to my older brother, and he read it too. This book is recommended reading for Microsoft employees. You are right, "the box" is another way of saying you're in a rut of sinful attitudes. The recommended action, as I remember it, is to discover a way to get out of "the box" by cultivating an attitude of gratitude and learning to recognize and purposefully direct your attention toward the things you like and enjoy about the members of your family or the people you work with. Another key is to make friends with people who help you develop and maintain a positive perspective toward others. It's a good book!

Jo

Popular posts from this blog

Why Is Obedience So Hard?

There are several reasons why obedience seems hard. I will comment on some of them and then speak positively on how obedience is easy. We think: 1) Obedience is an infringement on freedom. Since we are free in Christ, and obedience is somehow contrary to that freedom, we conclude that obedience is not good. Yet we know it is good. Thus, we become confused about obedience and are not single-minded. 2) Obedience is works. We who have been justified by grace through faith are opposed to works; therefore, we are opposed to obedience. 3) We have tried to obey and have failed—frequently. Therefore, the only solution is to disobey and later confess to receive forgiveness. It is easier to be forgiven by grace than to obey by effort. 4) We confuse obedience to men with obedience to God. Although these are sometimes one and the same (see Romans 13, 1 Peter 2-3, Ephesians 5-6, Colossians 3, and Titus 2), sometimes they are not the same (see Colossians 2:20-23, Mark 7, 1 Timothy 4:1-5, a

Lifted Up

In the first thirteen verses of John 3, Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was talking about. It was nonsense to him. When Jesus said verse fourteen to him, Nicodemus finally understood Jesus. Here it is: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…” (John 3:14). The reason it made sense to Nicodemus was because he knew of the event that Jesus spoke of. People who had been bitten by a serpent could look at the bronze snake and did not die. Nicodemus knew the Bible story.   Here it is: “Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, ‘We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.’ So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyo

Getting Old

This is a post for those who are getting old or considering themselves old, from 65-100. Right now, I am 91.* I will be 92 in October. I have my own house, but I cannot live in it alone because of my physical inability to move around. One of my sons lives with me. All of us will have to make some adjustments. That includes money, relatives, your own ability and willpower to stay independent, etc. My advice is if physically and financially you can live independently, you should certainly do that. If you do, you will still need to have visits from your family frequently. You need your family. Even if you don’t need them to take care of you, you need them for the fellowship. The more fellowship you have, the longer you’ll live. If you can stay independent do it, but only if friends and relatives can see you often. In my case, I can’t walk, and I can’t do much physically. So, whether I like it or not, someone else has to get me up, get me showered, and get me dressed. I am blessed to have