Self Inflecting Wounds

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6: 23

Several years ago, a neighbor, in a previous neighborhood that my family and I lived in, was employed in law enforcement. One afternoon, an ambulance was summoned to his residence due to a gun shot wound that he received. As information became known, we were made aware that he had been cleaning his weapon when it accidentally went off and shot him in the foot. He, thank God, was not seriously injured and made a full recovery. But I always wondered how a man fully trained in firearm safety could allow something like that to happen. Was he careless? Was he working too fast and did not take the time to fully check his weapon? Was there some arrogance in thinking that he had done this so many times before that this time was no big deal and he did not have to follow all the precautionary steps? Could it have been intentional?

I may never know the answers to those questions. The fact is that a very serious situation occurred that could have been fatal. At the very least, it was a situation that was very injurious … not only to him but to others around him.

Intentional vs. Unintentional

My understanding of the situation is that this self-inflicted wound was unintentional. It was what we would call an accident. Accidents do happen all the time and in various forms. Surprisingly, many accidents are avoidable if caution is taken and sometimes preparation is made. In the case of my neighbor, as a sworn peace officer, he had to go through training in order to carry his firearm. Part of that training is firearm safety. Had he been mindful of that training, when cleaning his weapon, he would have gone through the necessary steps to prevent the accident from occurring. He would have made sure that the gun was free of any rounds prior to the cleaning process.

However, there are times when self-inflected wounds are intentional. This is an extremely serious situation that is plaguing many countries, including the United States. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in America and tragically among American youth. These wounds are unfortunately irreversible and harm many people way after the act is committed. There are many reasons why this type of self-inflected wound is prevalent. Most of the reasons are rooted in an epidemic of mental health issues that society is facing (This blog post cannot do justice in analyzing suicide and its causes and there is no intention to downplay its seriousness).

However, whether intentional or unintentional, self-inflecting wounds hurt, harm and may ultimately cause death if not dealt with properly.

Sin, A Self-Inflecting Wound

Almost on a daily basis, there are stories in our newsfeeds concerning self-inflicting wounds that are intentional. They, again are very tragic and very shocking. However, there is a self-inflecting wound that is just as tragic and can be just as shocking. That self-inflicting wound is sin. Paul said that, “the wages of sin is death.” I don’t know how much more plain he could have gotten. The issue is how we, as a people and as a society, treat sin. Most people think of sin as unintentional. They will even categorize it as a mistake. Like my neighbor, sin is handled in a very careless way. We may be given the training and instruction to assist us in knowing how to approach sin (Whether through reading our Bibles or through church attendance). However, our arrogance, haste and carelessness, let us believe that, “we got this.” Even, those that profess Christianity can fall into this trap. Instead of going to our Trainer when dealing with sin, we rationalize our own effectiveness in handling the situation and it works to our harm and potentially the harm of those around us.

The truth of the matter is that sin is an intentional self-inflicted wound. If we are honest, we sin because we desire to sin. The devil does not make us do it. John stated it this way:

Whosoever committeth sin trangresseth also the law. For sin is the transgression of the law.

1 John 3: 4

Implied in this scripture is a willfulness to transgress. The word transgress means, “an act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct; an offense. When a person sins they transgress willfully. Even if a person tries to use the excuse that they were just careless or they made a hasty decision when committing a sin, those actions are based upon a heart that chose not to be careful or chose not to take the time to count all of the costs. That same heart may also think that their sin action is no big deal. They have done it several times before with no real consequences … until there are consequences. As a rule, sin and sinful actions progress over time if left unchecked. What may not be a big deal in the beginning will lead to serious and oftentimes lethal consequences, whether they are natural or spiritual or both. At the very root of all sin is selfishness!

Gift of God Through Jesus Christ

There is a remedy. Jesus Christ is God’s gift to mankind to bind up the wounds and to heal the broken hearted. If there is sin, Jesus came to abolish sin in the flesh. In other words, we don’t have to sin again. God gave us the ability to have victory over self-inflicted wounds. My neighbor shot himself in the foot and made a full recovery because he was able to seek medical help. There is probably still a scar. However, the pain of that wound has probably since subsided. It can be the same with our self-inflicting wounds. We can make a full recovery if we go to the Great Physician. He can give us the help that we stand in need of for our wounds. We may still have scars. Our loved ones may have even been affected. However, God through Jesus Christ can heal ALL pain. He actual does one better than the literal doctors. He takes away the sin to never be remembered again and the best gift of all is eternal life with Him. All he asks from us is our full commitment to Him. A small price to pay for surviving a self-inflected wound.

Photo by JOSHUA COLEMAN on Unsplash