“Spiritual Scleroderma” or “Callous toward Sin”

After a recent confession my priest asked me to pray for those who may be dull to sin, as part of my penance.  He said that if people were more inclined to acknowledge the little sins, they would stick closer to God and further from greater sin.   This made me think. 

When our hearts become calloused over time, we build up an artificial barrier against our consciousness of sin.  Been there, done that!  

Little Sins Matter

Sometimes we mistakenly try to justify sin by attributing to it a weighted value.  For example, “My little lie didn’t hurt a fly!”  But weighing venial against mortal sin is not the best approach to dealing with the subject.  In fact, those little sins can add up. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin.” (1863).”    

Little sins are like a callous.  As an avid gardener, when the first callous of Spring develops on my palms it is always painful.  Yet, as I continue my work, and the callous builds on itself layer by layer, the pain eventually goes away.  The callous has desensitized my skin.  The same concept may be applied to our heart and conscience when confronting sin.  We build up layers of “little sins” until we no longer feel anything.  And in some cases, we may think that a sin is little, when in actuality it is quite serious. For example, if a married person flirts with a co-worker - thinking about intimate things that are reserved for their spouse - but never follows up with physical action, they may consider the “thought” as trifle.  It wasn’t a big deal to them – but it’s a huge deal according to Jesus!

We read in Matthew Chapter 5 where Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Jesus is clearly equating a private sinful thought as equal to a public sinful action.  His proclamation is to instill in the listeners an attitude opposite of callousness toward sin, or what the Bible calls, “hard-heartedness.” Jesus not only wants us to flee from the act of sin, but to be sensitized to the very thought which precedes it.     

My Dad was fond of saying, “You can’t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from building a nest!”

Are little birds of sin building a nest on your head?  Have you shrugged off little sins as inconsequential or simply reasoned them away?  If so, then you may have “hardening of the heart.”   

The author of Hebrews understood this spiritual disease and encouraged the followers of Jesus using phrases such as “Harden not your hearts,” and saying to them, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”  The Greek word used here for “harden” is σκληρ?νητε (sklerynete).  The same Greek root is used for the medical condition known as “Scleroderma,” an autoimmune disease that causes a thickening in the skin.  The bad news is there is no cure for Scleroderma, but the good news is there is a cure for spiritual scleroderma!  We have a gracious Great Physician who is ready and willing to heal and re-sensitize our hearts to align them with his will.  The first step is to know right from wrong, and assuming this, the next step is to recognize when a sinful thought or action has been committed and repent of it.  It’s best to nip it in the bud immediately by confessing to God; then it helps immensely to confess it in the Act of Reconciliation.   

If you find yourself with “hardening of the heart” – ask God to help heal you.  He will not turn away a repentant heart.