Sin

 [A short essay by Fr. John Mancantelli from the booklet "Orthodox Great Lent - Reflections and Meditations"]

As sinners, we can have one of two attitudes towards our evil actions.  We can be lenient and nonchalant, making excuses for ourselves such as, "Everyone does the same thing," or "This commandment doesn't apply to my special situation," or "I had no choice," and the like.  In short, we can usurp the position of Christ and make ourselves the criterion of right and wrong in our lives.  Or, we can acknowledge and confess our sins, earnestly pleading Christ for forgiveness, and make amends to those we may have wronged, resolving with God's assistance never to do such deeds again.  The first approach leads to moral disintegration and personal destruction; the second to salvation.  Christ is the only true standard of good and evil in this world; to accept Him means to imitate His holy life in our own experience.  Therefore it is important for us to come to know Christ by reading the Scriptures and by encountering Him in the Sacraments of the Church.