“Who’s being naughty or nice” – An early Christmas Gift from Yeshua…
“Greetings, beloved brothers and sisters,
I wish to speak with you today about sin.
There are many expressions about it. You’ve probably heard, “The wages of sin is death.” But sin is woven into many conversations —the idea of right and wrong, being good, and not being bad.
It doesn’t just refer to wrongdoing. Many years after I was on the earth in a body, the church formalized sin, listing seven cardinal sins we’ve all heard of.
And, whether it be pride or greed or lust or envy or gluttony or wrath or sloth, these cardinal sins are seen as indulgences that you should, at all costs, avoid. They have a strong judgment attached to them. They are bad and wrong.
And, accompanying them are virtues that supposedly counteract the effects of sin. For instance, the virtue that goes with pride is humility. The virtue that goes with and counteracts greed is generosity, etc.
Unfortunately, all of these sins and virtues live in the same domain, the one where you’re identified with your ego, identified with the body.
And, if you really believe you are your body and you are your ego, then, in that sense, it’s true that the wages of sin are death. That’s how you get paid for sinning– you get rewarded with death.
Who you think you are, dies. The body dies. And the hope is, if you practice these virtues, maybe you will be saved from that. None of this is correct.
It’s all based on a central misunderstanding, much the same way as the interpretation of the 10 Commandments is based on a central misunderstanding.
The commandments seem full of admonitions. They promise judgment and harsh punishment. But if you look at the origins of these words in ancient Hebrew and Greek, sin just means “missing the mark,” like shooting an arrow slightly off target.
Sin is everywhere in the culture– being good, not being bad. If you listen to the words to the children’s song, “Santa Claus is coming to town,” popular this time of year, there’s this person who “Sees you when you’re sleeping, sees when you’re awake.” “He’s making a list and checking it twice– going to find out who’s naughty and nice.”
Even in that song, there are very strong judgments and admonitions and the promise of punishment or reward, depending on how you behave.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The answer is always the same. “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all things will be added unto you,” including all virtues.
You won’t have to worry about sinning because it isn’t your nature. It isn’t true. You won’t have to practice virtues to counteract your tendency to sin.
Being who you are takes care of everything. Seeking God takes care of everything. And not just seeking, but being who you are, remembering who you are. Discovering who you really are obliterates the idea and the reality of sin, of judgment, of punishment, of reward.
The love that you are is its own reward. You need not worry about being good lest ye be bad.
When you notice that you have been behaving in a way that you might call sinful, rather than running away from that, or fighting it, or avoiding looking at it, or shaming yourself, or promising to be good– this is a time to allow what you used to call “sin” to come to the surface.
Feel it and offer it up to the light. Offer it to God. Let yourselves feel it without any judgment, and don’t try to resist it. Don’t try to run away from it. Just notice and choose again.
What you really want to be is who you really are, and that is love, and only love. That’s what’s real.
None of these sins or virtues need to be practiced.
Your nature is divine.
I love you very much, and I’ll speak with you again soon.”
-Yeshua
