The nature of sin
If you understand that in biblical terms, the root of all sin, is lies. And that it is the lies we tell ourselves, and act on as if they were true, which causes sinful behaviour. And that a huge lie a number of people tell themselves, is that they are normal, which means they are conforming to some standard of normality that they have adopted from external influences.
They may think, since everyone appears to be happy with them, that this is a good thing, however, within each of us, is a truly unique individual, and lying to oneself and others about who we are, sets us on a path one creating more and more lies that they need in to maintain that feeling of being able to prove to themselves they are doing well.
However, those lies that hold up that pretentious false self that they claim to be. They have a number of impacts on oneself. Firstly, they lead to a need to be with people that also believe this false self to be true, and they get very triggered if someone should express an opinion that conflicts with any of those lies the person is trying to embody. So these people end up getting angry at others, they may try to bully them into agreeing with their belief, or they may just avoid that person, and all people that might think differently.
In addition, as those internal lies build up, and interesting psychological process comes into play were the fear, of those lies being exposed becomes too great, that the individual who is in that incongruent state, becomes highly aggressive, and projects that fear into the words and actions of others. They end up feeling under attack because everywhere they look, they see their own darkness. This can lead to very extreme behaviour. But for many, it expresses itself in judging others, wanting some people, or types of people to be removed from the society they themselves live in.
So you can see the danger of trying to copy others and conform to how they think you should be, act and believe. The truth is that each one of us is unique, there is no normal, normal is a doomed coping mechanism that will lead not only to your own sadness, but also, if we are sticking to the Bible, to hell.
There is more! Because continued denial of a person’s true self often leads to a process called dissociation. This is where one or more aspects of oneself become completely disconnected from your unified mind, and it is these that cause our most serious mental health problems. They can be the cause of persistent negative thoughts and feelings, they can also create voices in your head that hate you, and can connect you to other voices that hate you, even demons.
Becoming sin free
However, there is good news. All of this can be avoided, and one can move towards becoming sin-free. Now that we have this understanding; that the truth that is required, is our own unique truth of the self, we can start working towards it.
Active self-introspection means looking within oneself, to uncover one’s true-self. It means paying active attention to our feelings, our intuition, to our thoughts, constantly asking; “Is this really me? Is this exactly what the true me wants to do?” Over time, and with persistence, each can find their true self, and embody the truth of who we are.
This process has another benefit; it allows us to better connect with the divine, with heaven. Jesus told us that the Kingdom is within. Self-introspection is the tool that you use to find that heavenly kingdom, where Jesus waits for us. Within each of us are the clues and connections that will ultimately lead us to that heavenly connection, and along with that, a far greater sense of knowing, not just ourselves, but also, our place within God’s divine family.
In addition, this process will bring you to a situation where you will love all of yourself, unconditionally and this will spill over to an unconditional love of everything, of all of God’s creation. However, this is not a guaranteed result of self-introspection, it takes work and courage, and you have the freewill to continue rejecting your true-self. This would mean, of course, a continuation of the lies, and the resulting sin. Sin is not allowed in heaven, living a lie, will never get you to heaven.
Philippians 3:20
With this in mind, I wanted to reflect on the following interpretations of Philippians 3:20:
King James Version (KJV) – “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ”.
New International Version (NIV) – “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ”.
To me, the KJV version could be interpreted within the understanding of sin, and that this process of removing our sin, as I have explained above, is also the process of establishing that conversation with heaven and Jesus, by actively taking steps to find that kingdom within.
The NIV version, however, seems to say, you are already there, there’s nothing to do, you don’t need that conversation, you just have to wait for Jesus to come and get you.
Now I’m not trying to say any Bible is right or wrong here. I’m just trying to inform you of my understanding of my own truth, and how following others, including those that expressed themselves through the Bible, can most definitely be a two-edged sword, especially if you are a sinner. Since you will look for interpretations that support your continued ongoing sinfulness. You will be looking for the “wide path”, that path of all those that believe that their own interpretation of the Bible means they are saved, without doing the work.
