The S Word

We all sin. To avoid using the "s" word, we may call it by other less penetrating names; politically correct names. But sin by any other name remains what it is, sin. It is not uncommon for man to blame external causes and conditions for our troubles and sicknesses, while all the time the real trouble is sin.

One of the greatest problems we face today is that of controlling the absurd, the insane in human nature which tend to defy complete control. We observe this in acts of violence, extreme aggression, mass hysteria, and mob brutality. As capital crime violence mount, we seem to think severe legal penalties will eradicate or tame the problems. So we strengthen our police force, lengthen regulations, and extend jail sentences. But there is something peculiar under the sun. Even after we have tightened up, the results are still the same.

Who can deny that our world is suffering from a severe spiritual illness? We are living in the midst of economic paralysis and social disorder. Underneath the surface, there is sin: the sin of greed, power, contempt for human beings, and the denial of brotherhood. Our spiritual sickness can only be cured by a spiritual restoration. Peace treaties have not worked for long in the past and we have no reason to believe they will be any more effective in the future. There must be an agreement with God, with the moral and spiritual realities. We have sinned. We have made alcohol more important than blood, shoes more important than people, national prestige more important than human welfare and personal agendas more important than childrens' rights.

I submit, we are dealing with something that cannot be permanently changed. We are dealing with sin. Guess what? Jails are not big enough to contain sin. There are neither enough nor powerful enough arsenals in the world to kill sin. The demons running our streets cannot be controlled by the supreme court judges or any other judge. The pathology running rampart among us cannot be controlled by police with pistols on their hip.

Sin within is manifested without; it darkens human life and saddens human history. Until we learn the unique gift of God in Jesus Christ, there will always be restlessness. Until we recognize who Jesus is, we will not be able to cure the threat. Someone once said that if we fail to retreat from sin, we will advance in it. Sin is an offense against an infinite God and will have immeasurable consequences, unless we turn to God for strength to resist.

Yet, deep within ourselves, we know that the god we have deluded ourselves into believing in is not the true God. Sometimes in the quiet of the night or in the midst of prayer, we know that we have caricatured God. Regardless of how we live, in the deepest recess of our minds, we know that what we sow, we do reap. We know that whatever kind of bread we cast upon the waters will return to us. We know that there is an unbending moral law which men and nations of men do not ultimately escape. We know that God's justice and wrath and condemnation move increasingly upon our soft and sin accommodating ways. We see our excuses, rationalizations, and alibis for what they are: sin cover-ups. In these fleeting moments, we remember our wasted hours, our cowardice and our deafness to human pain-and we know that judgment day is real and that every day is judgment day, even today.

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: A Grief Healing Workbook, will be available soon.

reliable maid service Park Ridge ...

In The News:

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.

Apple's $299 HomeView smart display uses facial recognition to personalize screens for up to six household members and show live security camera feeds.

Domonique DuBose spotted red flags when a man on Hinge with 85,000 followers and a blue checkmark claimed to be a San Francisco 49ers player.

Your phone's location data can expose visits to doctors, pharmacies and places of worship. The FTC took action against data brokers selling this data.

Hackers targeted Danfoss refrigerator controls across French supermarkets, forcing chains like Carrefour and Monoprix to discard massive food stocks.

iOS 27 finally lets iPhone Shared Albums store photos and videos at full resolution in iCloud, but new items count toward the owner's storage.

A fake Facebook Marketplace text scam uses your real name as the seller to trick you into replying, and Malwarebytes warns even one response helps.

The Pentagon data breach exposed 2.76 million Social Security numbers and military records, raising long-term identity theft concerns for veterans.

Kodiak AI plans to haul IKEA freight on Texas highways with no one in the cab, raising urgent cybersecurity and safety questions for drivers.

Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 adds Extend and Reframe tools to Photos, letting iPhones generate new background areas beyond your original borders.

Microsoft's X account was hijacked to promote a crypto pump-and-dump scheme, exposing its more than 13 million followers to a scam campaign.

Scammers can combine your name, phone number and address with data breach details to attempt SIM swaps, phishing and even identity theft schemes.

ChatGPT Work, Meta Muse and Gemini Spark can monitor flight prices, sort your email inbox and track important deadlines, but savvy users start small.

iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel each hide a built-in tool that turns a video frame into a separate photo without any screenshot needed.

Operation KillSwitch dismantled KillSec's ransomware infrastructure, but investigators say a 16-year-old allegedly ran the entire cybercrime operation.

The Fox News Artificial Intelligence newsletter covers where voters will decide on AI data center ballot measures and Jeff Bezos' tech vision.

Apple's Impersonation Risk Detection in iOS 27 can flag suspicious activity inside apps, but the setting is off by default and must be enabled.

Federal Election Commission records can expose your name, address, employer and donation history once contributions exceed the $200 threshold.

Cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright says human skepticism remains the strongest defense against AI-driven phishing scams and voice cloning fraud schemes.

iPhone, Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy each handle security updates differently, and one screen saying "up to date" may not tell the whole story.

Deborah Del Mastro heard what sounded like her daughter's terrified voice on the phone, launching a five-hour virtual kidnapping scam ordeal.

Hotel TV privacy risks go beyond forgotten passwords when you sign into Netflix or other streaming apps on shared devices you don't control.

The S Word

Spirituality