2 Reasons I Sin at the Store

Enter through the door that says, “Enter.”

Exit through the door that says, “Exit.”

You would think this would not be that difficult, but every time I frequent that store with the smiley face who slashes prices, I almost run into someone going the wrong way (most of the time because I am attempting to tackle them).

The smiley face has made it easy for you: the exit is always closest to the registers. This means that some people are walking past the exit door so that they may leave through the entrance.

I cannot think of anything that frustrates me more.

Recently, I watched a woman try to enter through the exit side of smiley face but the doors did not open quickly enough. If she would not have been paying attention, she would have ran into the door forcing me to throw the streamers that I keep in my pocket for just such an occasion. I also would have done a dance.

People do not do this at the big red bulls-eye store. They follow the proper procedures. It is an orderly bunch who take aim at that place. When I am at the big red bulls-eye, I always feel so light and happy because I did not have to forgive six people on my way in.

At the smiley face, reluctant forgiveness abounds. I even slap some offenders on the forehead because I assume that they are possessed with a dyslexic demon.

My attitude on all of this changed when I went to the smiley face in Waco, TX.

I was preparing to dish out some judgmental looks as I approached the front of the store, but all of that was ruined when I noticed that the smiley face had slashed the labels above doors. No more rules existed for the entering and the exiting of the store.

I was a little put out.

I like the rules. The rules made me right. The rules made me superior.

The rules made me sin.

Satan is good at that.

He likes to use your Holy Momentum to flip you over his head. You may be doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. You may be obeying the rules and toeing the regulated line, but it can be sin.

Jesus chastised those who prayed. Jesus corrected those who fasted.

It is a tragedy when we use the teachings of Jesus, teachings that were meant to help us build relationship with God and with God’s creation, to divide and set ourselves above others.

It is hard to follow Jesus with this attitude. When I am self-righteous, I struggle to follow the One who is self-sacrificing. When I judge it is hard to follow the One who forgives.

Following the rules can make me an awful person.

This is why I always thank God for His matchless grace.


You should too.