The Difficulty of Recognizing Our Own Sin

The subtlety of sin is that it doesn’t feel like sin when we’re doing it; it feels godlike, it feels religious, it feels fulfilling and satisfying. Remember the episode in Eden when the tempter said,

You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil (Gen 3:4-5; the Message).

David didn’t feel like a sinner when he sent for Bathsheba; he felt like a lover—and what can be better than that? David didn’t feel like a sinner when he sent for Uriah; he felt like a king—and what can be better than that? When we become delusional victims of our own selves we have, somewhere along the line, withdrawn from a life of worship. Our adoration of God has receded and obsession with self has moved in.