Left Undone

Most merciful God, I confess that I am by nature sinful and unclean. I have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what I have done and by what I have left undone…

That is a portion of the liturgical confession that I recite nearly every Sunday. Most Sundays, if I’m being honest, the words roll off my tongue without me giving them as much thought as I probably should–but not today. Today I was struck by the last few words and they hit me especially hard…by what I have left undone…

Left undone…

We can all easily admit to being sinners. Let’s face it, none of us is even close to perfect. But when it comes to sinning, if we are a fairly decent human being, it’s pretty easy to avoid committing sinful actions–those “obvious sins”, that is. I haven’t ever killed anyone, that one is easy. I don’t steal. I’ve never been unfaithful to my wife. Of course, I’ve lied, but it’s not something I do on a daily basis, most days it’s pretty easy to avoid telling a lie. Those kinds of sins are the ones we often like to use to comfort ourselves. By not committing them, we can feel fairly good about ourselves.

Then comes the line, what I’ve left undone…

They hit me between the eyes today, those four words.

I leave a lot undone. I feel like I’m probably not alone in that.

I should use those four words as a measuring stick on a daily basis, like a checkpoint.

Sins of omission often sting less than sinful actions, but they shouldn’t. Sin is not measured by degrees, sin is sin.

Sins of omission keep us from fulfilling our mission.

My mission is to love my fellow man by reflecting the love of Christ.

When I commented on the politically charged social media post this week, was I doing so out of an act of love or was I doing so out of a prideful desire to be right? In the process, did I leave undone the mission of reflecting love?

When I saw that man on the corner holding a sign that spoke of his desperate situation, did I avert my eyes and drive on by, convinced he was a scam artist? In the process, did I leave undone the mission of reflecting love?

When I was in a traffic jam and someone came from behind me and tried to squeeze in front of me, did I assume a meek and humble attitude and let him in, or did I become angry and aggressive, stubbornly holding my ground? In the process, did I leave undone the mission of reflecting love?

When I saw fellow Christians judgmentally condemning people on social media for their sexual orientation, did I just shake my head in disappointment and move on, failing to lift up my fellow children of God in love for fear of being labeled a heretic? In the process, did I leave undone the mission of reflecting love?

As I lamented the state of health care in our nation and the proposals that seem to be heading in the wrong direction, did I neglect to do anything I could do the help the hurting in my own community? Did I leave undone the mission of reflecting love?

Did I take a degree of joy in seeing the leaders of our nation become entangled in another scandal because I don’t like their political agenda–failing to hold them up in prayer that their hearts would be softened, allowing them to change their course by developing a more Christ-like approach? In the process, did I leave undone the mission of reflecting love?

I could go on, but it is getting pretty painful.

Oh Lord, forgive me for the things I’ve left undone–they are many.