When Christians Sin 

   “When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world.” (C. S. Lewis) 

   We are all sinners.  Christians know and recognize this fact, even though they wish it were not true.  However, those who do not believe look at the sins of Christians not as a failing that is within everyone, but as proof that Christianity is not believable and that those who claim to be Christians are hypocrites.

   Sadly, in some cases, they are right; some who profess Christianity are hypocrites.  They may be in church singing hymns on Sunday morning, but the rest of the week, there is not even a hint of their faith.  The life they live outside the doors of the church show no evidence of Christianity.  These people are not only lying to themselves but to Jesus Christ Himself.

   St. John Chrysostom said that Gentiles who saw Christians sinning thought they were either liars or fools, saying, “If you don’t believe what you say you believe, you are liars; if you believe in eternity and still sin, you are fools.”  In the words of today, they were talking the talk, but not walking the walk.  We face the same problem today, those who attack Christianity miss no opportunity to dismiss it as lies, hypocrisy and superstition.  It’s up to us to refrain from giving them additional evidence and ammunition to us against us.

   We can never be completely free from sin, but there are things that can help us avoid it as much as possible.  Prayer is first on the list; seek the strength and help of God.  We also need to avoid those activities, places, and even people who draw us into sin.  Most of all, we can commit our lives to the will of God, submitting our own will to His.