It seems that many of us cringe at any discussion associated with one three letter word. It is a word packed with emotion. It has deep implications when creating public policy and laws. It has deep ties to religious theology, particularly Christian. It has important implications in our mindset and in turn our health. The word we must address? Sin.
While we cannot entirely separate ourselves from the societal implications of sin, in this article I will look at its implications on our mindset. The focus for this article will discuss sin away from the idea of violating God’s law in general terms, though that may be a factor on an individual basis. According to an article on sin found in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
“We sin, then, if we knowingly do that which we know we ought not, and if we knowingly do not do that which we know we ought. According to many views, we also sin when we internally endorse a sinful action, whether or not we carry through with that endorsement and perform the action.”
Doing what we know we shouldn’t or not doing that what we know we should essentially describes values conflicts. These conflicts may be the result of conflicts strictly internal such as conflict between emotions of lust, envy, or greed, and love, kindness, selflessness, or generosity. When we give in to the former while part of us knows we should be doing the latter we are experiencing parts conflicts or values conflicts. These conflicts have significant implications for goal achievement and mental as well as physical health.
Our conscience is responsible for helping us do the right thing by making it painful when we do what our conscience is telling us is the wrong thing to do. Those “with no conscience” will do unspeakable evil in part because one of the mechanisms for doing what is morally right is missing.
We can see how sin then has societal implications. Who determines what sin is? When we focus on our incongruence between doing what we know we shouldn’t or not doing what we know we should, we have internalized an act as right and an act as wrong, but the question is according to whom. It is possible that it is according to some internal code you alone have, but far more likely it has to do with societal mores. When our personal upbringing comes into conflict with the current mores of our culture incongruence or parts conflicts, and internal stress is typically the result. When our “sinful nature”, arguably centered around selfishness, comes into conflict with altruistic desires, we experience a parts conflict. When the conflicts remain unresolved or become frequent, we are risking our emotional and physical health.
Becoming your own life coach is how you learn to handle and potentially avoid these conflicts. Even if your personal mores are coming into increasing conflict with societal mores there are patterns of thinking and behavior that can dramatically improve your mind and body’s response. The importance of training your mindset, in particular working on love, faith, and faithfulness, cannot be minimized. Finalizing the mindset training is training the spirit of the champion which would include significant work on values and beliefs. Throughout the training process the habits you have or do establish are around managing your emotions and attitude.
If you haven’t done so already, maybe you should resolve in this new year to work on your mindset – begin to build the mindset of a champion.
