Feline Theology, Part 1: Cats = Sin?

In seminary, we had a professor who, in a class on world religions, spoke of Zoroastrianism as having two distinct sources of good and evil. The good god produced good things - like rainbows and puppy dogs, while the evil god or spirit created (and here he paused and his voice deepened)...cats.

I do not believe that cats are inherently evil. Black cats don't freak me out. But I do see the parallel, at least for me, between my relationship with my cats and my relationship with sin.

You see, I'm allergic to my cats. Have known this for some time. And, yet, I have not one, but two. I am not as allergic as some of my friends or relatives, who cannot come to my house to visit. But I AM allergic. I sneeze, my nose runs, and I have difficulty breathing. When I am stupid enough to touch my eyes after I have been petting my cats (which is quite frequently), my vision is disturbed. Oh, I can take an antihistamine or a decongestant, and I can wet a washcloth and hold it over my eyes, or use eyedrops. But wouldn't life be simpler for me if I avoided having cats in the first place?

Aren't we the same with our favorite sins? Overall, I'm sure we try to avoid sin...at least the big ten. But don't we try to rationalize some of our sins like I rationalize having cats? After all, I've never ended up in the hospital because of them. I can take a pill. I can keep them off my bed (ironically enough, a place where many sins take place because our society has convinced us that sex outside of marriage is no longer sin). I can wash away my clouded vision.

Don't all sins cloud our vision, though? The first time that we do something that we know we shouldn't - the first time we do something that we know, either through our study of His word or through our guts, is displeasing to God - don't we try to rationalize it? Either by comparing our sin to someone else's sin that we perceive as worse that what we did, or by saying we only did it once...isn't that clouding our vision as to what we have done? Romans 6:23 reads "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (ESV). I did my undergrad work at a Roman Catholic women's college, where I had to disagree with Father Norman (r.i.p.), who in a class on religion spoke of mortal and venial sin. He had to explain that to the Presbyterian in the back of the room. But Romans doesn't say the wages of some sin is death, the wages of others, eh, not so bad.

I could get rid of my cats. Ok, probably not, unless my allergies get to the point where I cannot have a cat in my presence.

More importantly,though, I cannot get rid of my sin. I will not ever be free from sin in this life. But I can make a conscious effort to stop doing things that I know are displeasing to God. Like clean up my language. And my attitude. I can choose to not put myself in positions where I will be faced with choices and temptations that lead me to sin.

Thankfully, I don't have to get rid of my sin on my own. God has provided a way. Which is a good thing. Because otherwise, none of us would be here.