Sights and Insights
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. – Psalm 1139:14-15 (NRSV)
Those that joined in this past Sunday for the Adult Forum for the first week of the series on the deadly sins had a chance to encounter the incredible word “Floccinaucinihilipilification.” For those that missed it, floccinaucinihilipilification is one of the longest words in the English language. It is a combination of four different Latin words that each mean “nothing.” Put together, floccinaucinihilipilification describes a tendency to consider something to be worthless.
As we move fully into the season of Lent, it is important to avoid falling into a pattern of floccinaucinihilipilification. Lent is a season of self-examination and recognizing that we are sinful. This is indeed important. Too often, though, a needed bit of self-reflection can turn into feeling yourself to be worthless. Lent is not about telling ourselves that we are no-good, horrible, worthless human beings. That is not what the Christian tradition teaches, and it is not what Lent is about.
Christianity draws on the biblical message that God has deemed the world to be good. God has deemed all of the world, from amoebas to giant sequoias, to be essentially and deeply good. That also means that our creator God sees you and deems you to be deeply and essentially good. You are fearfully and wonderfully made; you are of great value.
At the same time, the concept of sin tells us that we are separated not only from God but from that goodness that is part of us. That is, as we go through life various things separate us from that good being we were created to be. Some of those things that cause the separation are our choices. We sin through acts that hurt others and create separation. We sin by acting against God’s desire for peace and harmony within the world. We also sin when we fail to recognize that God created us to be blessings to others because we are wonderfully made. Other aspects of what cause us to be separated from the good creation we were intended to be are not our fault. Past histories and situations that we find ourselves in can block us from living out the fullness of who God created us to be. This is known as structural sin, and it is also a powerful type of sin. It is sin that is inherited or original; it was there before we were born.
In Lent, we take time to recognize the ways we are separated from God and from who God intends us to be. We recognize the reality of sin in our lives. We repent or turn around from the aspects of sin that we have some control over, while also recognizing that we are bound to sin and cannot free ourselves. This does not mean we are worthless. It means that we rely on God’s grace, and part of God’s grace is learning that we are valuable to God. We need not fall into floccinaucinihilipilification in order to experience the joy of God’s grace breaking through the separation in our lives.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. – Psalm 1139:14-15 (NRSV)
Those that joined in this past Sunday for the Adult Forum for the first week of the series on the deadly sins had a chance to encounter the incredible word “Floccinaucinihilipilification.” For those that missed it, floccinaucinihilipilification is one of the longest words in the English language. It is a combination of four different Latin words that each mean “nothing.” Put together, floccinaucinihilipilification describes a tendency to consider something to be worthless.
As we move fully into the season of Lent, it is important to avoid falling into a pattern of floccinaucinihilipilification. Lent is a season of self-examination and recognizing that we are sinful. This is indeed important. Too often, though, a needed bit of self-reflection can turn into feeling yourself to be worthless. Lent is not about telling ourselves that we are no-good, horrible, worthless human beings. That is not what the Christian tradition teaches, and it is not what Lent is about.
Christianity draws on the biblical message that God has deemed the world to be good. God has deemed all of the world, from amoebas to giant sequoias, to be essentially and deeply good. That also means that our creator God sees you and deems you to be deeply and essentially good. You are fearfully and wonderfully made; you are of great value.
At the same time, the concept of sin tells us that we are separated not only from God but from that goodness that is part of us. That is, as we go through life various things separate us from that good being we were created to be. Some of those things that cause the separation are our choices. We sin through acts that hurt others and create separation. We sin by acting against God’s desire for peace and harmony within the world. We also sin when we fail to recognize that God created us to be blessings to others because we are wonderfully made. Other aspects of what cause us to be separated from the good creation we were intended to be are not our fault. Past histories and situations that we find ourselves in can block us from living out the fullness of who God created us to be. This is known as structural sin, and it is also a powerful type of sin. It is sin that is inherited or original; it was there before we were born.
In Lent, we take time to recognize the ways we are separated from God and from who God intends us to be. We recognize the reality of sin in our lives. We repent or turn around from the aspects of sin that we have some control over, while also recognizing that we are bound to sin and cannot free ourselves. This does not mean we are worthless. It means that we rely on God’s grace, and part of God’s grace is learning that we are valuable to God. We need not fall into floccinaucinihilipilification in order to experience the joy of God’s grace breaking through the separation in our lives.