THE METAPHYSICAL MEANING OF THE WORDS, "SIN", "RIGHT' & "WRONG"

Many people interpret the word "sin" to mean anything "bad". Of course, "bad" means different things to different people. And there are some things which are bad for some and good for others. So if sin means different things to different people, then just what really is "sin"?

"Sin" is an archery term which means "missing the mark". This means missing the mark of the perfection of God. We are not yet perfect, therefore we are all sinners. This doesn't mean that we are all bad people, just that we aren't perfect yet, that's all. If we were perfect, we wouldn't need to be here on earth in a physical body, learning the lessons of life.

Earth is a schoolroomand we are all here to learn how to perfect our souls. We are here to work on our souls and even after our physical bodies die, we still go on learning lessons, just on a different plane of existence. But that is another newsletter!

Since God is love, anything you do which is not in accord with love is missing the mark of God, or sinning. This doesn't mean that God will punish you for sinning. God doesn'tpunish us, we punish ourselves by our own actions.

In the beginning God gave us free will to do good or bad. He also set up UniversalLaws, and when we go against these Laws, we are in essence, punishing ourselves. For instance, if you intentionally do something to hurt someone, a Universal Law states that everything you send out into the Universe will be returned to you. Therefore, if you send out pain or anger, this will be returned to you. But this is not God punishing you. You have done this to yourself. It wouldn't make sense if God gave us free will only to do what He wants us to do. This would not truly be free will. God wanted companions in the beginning, not slaves. That is why He gave us our free wills.

So, whenever you hear the word "sin" again, or are called a "sinner", don't feel like you are a bad person or have failed in any way. It just means that you are not yet perfect, that's all!

The metaphysical meaning of the word "right" is very simple. "Right" is anything that reacts in a constructive way to yourself and others. This also includes animals, plants and everything.

"Wrong" is anything that reacts destructively to yourself and to everyone else. To intentionally hurt someone is wrong. Notice I said "intentionally". For it is your intentions which really count. If you say or do something which unintentionally hurts someone, then you should not feel guilty about it, if you can honestly say that your intentions were good.

However, we must all remember that God Himself gave each and every one of us a free will and it goes against God and everything good to try and take someone's free will away from them. They have the right to do what they want to with their own life. Even if we know that what they are doing is harmful to them, we must not interfere in their right to do this. I am not talking about children, of course, but adults. It is fine to give someone advice, but only if they ask for it. But don't get angry with them if they refuse to take it.

We must never force our own opinions or beliefs on anyone. Everyone is at their own level of learning and must learn their own lessons in their own time.