In my last blog I suggested that we think about a common notion that suggests that sin is normal. But is that a correct notion? The fact that sin is frequent is not evidence that sin is normal.
C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity that humans are a sort of machine that has certain ways it must operate or it does not work correctly (The 3 Parts of Morality). So what is it that makes things work in a normal way? What "fuel" does the human machine need to run correctly?
When I was in college I learned about a situation where someone bought a new car while on a trip in Europe. They enjoyed the car so much they had it shipped back the the US and had an employee of their business fly to New York and drive the car back to Texas. The trip was uneventful until the driver stopped for the 1st full-up on the trip. After filling up the car wit fuel the. car only went about 3 blocks and the engine locked up. The driver assumed that the vehicle had a gas engine WHEN it had a diesel engine. The driver had placed the wrong fuel in the tank.
John Wesley and every historic, orthodox theologian teach that sin is the wrong "fuel" for human flourishing. The experience of sin is frequent but there is nothing normal about sin. Sin is the "great intruder" that has made human beings and human experience the mess that is.
Reflect: Have you ever given thought to whether sin is normal or simply frequent? Is sin the wrong fuel for human flourishing?