Sure, Hugo — there’s no question about that. We all are different, and we all have our different strengths and weaknesses, including our propensity to sin. Any shepherd needs to recognize the differences in his or her sheep.
Still, the shepherd cannot and must not abdicate his or her role of guiding the sheep in the way that God asks us to go. (And I recognize your uncertainty regarding what God would have us to do in this matter. I am, obviously, taking a certain position.)

To relate this thought to a comment in your most recent post, your current position IS the mainstream position of today’s culture, although it’s certainly not the only position out there. The message to “have sex responsibly, within the context of love and commitment” is all over the place.

It wouldn’t matter, though, if that message was rare in the culture, because that’s not the issue. The issue is what God wants for his people, even if our reason and experience can’t comprehend why God would restrict us from what seems good to us. (And with our sinfulness, God’s ways will always be contrary to ours in many respects.)

Peace of Christ!
Chip

Hi. If things settle down around our place, I’ll try to write something on my blog on the questions you’ve raised. But consider this. How did Jesus approach the people who came to him who had sinned in the past?

If they were ready to start fresh, to leave their old ways behind, he accepted them as they were and taught them to live a life of love.

If they were too tied to anything in this temporal world, he was able to see that as well. Take, for instance, the young rich man who came to him asking what it would take to be a follower. The young man was too tied to his material possessions. For this young man, the key to following Jesus was to give away all his wealth. Jesus didn’t ask this of every would-be follower, but he did ask it of the person for whom material possessions would be a hindrance to living a life of love.

And there lies the challenge - finding that which we tend to put above God, realizing this, and learning to put God and the path to which He leads us above all else. For each of us, it is something different. And it sometimes changes. We must always be self-aware.

That’s one version of sin (chet); the kind of sin where you mess up or fail. That is different kind of sin than a deliberate, malicious act.

We have a goal for which to strive - Godly perfection. As humans, we can never fully reach that goal, but we are to forgive ourselves and others the mistakes made and then to continue reaching for the goal. Doing so allows us to inch closer to the mark each day.

The word “sin” originally came from archery. It means to miss the mark. Once I learned that, it became easier to accept that I am going to have “sin” in my life, because that little “bull’s eye” in the center of the target is darn hard to hit. But I keep practicing, keep working at it, and never give up. (OK, some days I give up…. for a little bit. But then I try again.) As I keep practicing, I get closer and closer to the “mark.”

Et, c’est la vie, n’est pas?

Desires are to be controlled, not given in to because they are OK. Desire leads to action, and my concern is by condoning one, you are also condoning the other. I am disappointed you didn’t give the moral guidance which this generation so desperately needs. That’s the job of a shepherd, I would have thought.

Hugo,

How could a one-night stand ever be considered “faithful”?

Peace of Christ,
Chip