People seldom use the word sin anymore. When we do something wrong, we say we showed "inappropriate behavior" or made a "tactical error" or "mistake." We may even say, "I have done a bad thing." It seems as if people have come to believe in their own innate goodness.

We do so in spite of overwhelming physical and spiritual evidence to the contrary. As I write, genocide is rampant in Sudan. Unbelievable atrocities have been endured in Bosnia and Rwanda. Who can forget the killing fields of Cambodia? And what about the millions of unborn babies killed in the US in the name of convenience? Evil has not dropped off the face of the earth.

As followers of Jesus, we must steadfastly resist the efforts of our world to minimize the reality of sin. We must agree with God that "there is none who does good, no, not one" (Psalm 14:3).

Recognizing the sins of nations is easier than admitting our own personal sin. But we need to confess the specific sins we commit against our holy God. "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (1 John 1:10).

Call your sin sin and confess it to God.
  — David C. Egner