[josephdc]

What is the consequence of sin? Death, right?

Well, I was able to understand this truth much better lately. I am such a sinner, and I realized and experienced that every time I commit a sin, I weaken my conscience. Our conscience is God's gift to us, right? It is one of the compasses which He gives us that helps us find our way to Him, that points us towards the right direction. I realized that every time I commit a sinful act, I weaken my sense of what's right and what's wrong. As a result, I experience a sense of confusion, a sense of being at a loss for who I am and where I am going; my mind is muddled up and I feel empty, I feel depressed and sometimes I despair. I realized that what my sins are naturally leading me to is self-destruction, because my sins weaken my self-concept, integrity, confidence, and therefore affects my relationships; it dulls my heart to the needs of those around me, makes me less sensitive to their feelings. Eventually, if I keep on committing sinful acts, I will be capable of doing greater wrongs. I realized that what sins ultimately lead to is truly death.

I realized also that what sin leads to and what it is about -- confusion, depression, emptiness, despair, ugliness, destruction and death -- does not define who we truly are as human beings. As human beings we are all about fullness, beauty, order, complexity, intelligence, having a strong sense of purpose and direction, meaning, and life. If we look at our bodies for example, our organs, tissues, cells, and the DNA that they carry -- they are all highly complex, they possess a high degree of order and intelligence, and beauty, too. That's what we are about physically; spiritually, we are beautiful, too. Our minds are capable of creating such magnificent works, too -- art, literature, music, etc. -- and they possess a high degree of order, complexity and beauty, also. So we are all about these things; these things define our nature, but not fully: We are also a great mystery, even to ourselves. But the point is, our essence as human beings is life, and we have a strong instinct and passion for life, and we are capable of producing incredibly complex, organized and beautiful creations. Why, then, do we commit sins, acts which directly contradict our very nature?