What is sin ?

[rizen1]

What is sin

by Helen Steiner Rice

We ask " What is sin "
And how does it begin,
Does it come from without
or begin from within?

Well, sin is much more
than an act or a deed,
More than " False witness"
or avarice and greed,

More than adultery
or killing or stealing,
sin starts with a thought
or an unworthy feeling

Long before it becomes
an act, word or deed
for it grows deep within
like a poisonous weed -

It's something we nurture
And then culitivate
by conjuring up evils
we then imitate,

And the longer we dwell
on this evil within
the greater our urge
and desire to sin

And the less our restraint
of wholesome sensations
to deny to our bodies
full gratifications-

And the more that we sin
the less we detect
that in sinning we lose
our own self- respect

And slowly we sink
To a still lower level
until we become merely
" dupes of the devil "

For sin is so subtle
and it slips in with ease
and it gets a firm hold
when we do as we please -

So ask God to help you
to conquer desire
aroused by the thoughts
that have set you afire,

And remembering in sinning
there is no lasting joy
for all sin can do
is degrade and destroy