SIN OF OMISSION

James 4:17

So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin.

When you steal, you committed a sin. When you lust or covet another man’s wife, it is a grave sin. How about seeing a person in pain, lying on the street and instead of helping, you just go your way. Is it a sin? Or seeing someone hungry and yet you do nothing? Or maybe, just as simple as failing to say “I love you” to your wife. Are these also sins? Sad to say, but yes… you could be committing the sin of omission.

The “sin of omission” is defined as the willful neglect or positive refusal to perform some good action that one's conscience urges one to do. Such omission is morally culpable, and its gravity depends on the importance of what should have been done, on the person's willfulness, and the circumstances of the situation.

Our relationship with God is not only one of being aware of what evil we do, but also being aware of the good we don't do. The good things we are called to do are not to be done only when it is convenient for us, but at all times. Just as we are called to be constantly aware of temptations and sin in our lives, we are also called to pursue the fruits of the spirit. The sin of omission is just as harmful to our spiritual well being as the sins we know not to do. In the bible, the rich man was thrown to hell NOT because he maltreated Lazarus, but rather, since he did not do anything to alleviate the poor man’s suffering and pain. The rich man, as he saw the beggar starving at his doorstep and could easily have reached out to him and helped Lazarus to become well again. What we fail to do can make us just as guilty as what we do. A sin is a wrong choice, and to decide not to do something is just as much of a choice as to decide to do something.

I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do. May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.

Amen +

“It isn’t the thing you do; it’s the thing you leave undone,

Which gives you a bit of heartache, at the setting of the sun.” (M. Sangster)

Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!