We are
accountable to God for our actions, our thoughts, and the words we speak in
person or on the internet. Whenever we use
the ability and capability to reach out and touch another human being, whether
for good or ill, we will be held to account.
We are not
accountable for the things others do and say, the actions of our ancestors, or
the collective guilt of wrongs we personally did not participate in or approve
of. If however, we were silent when we could have offered assistance, we will be
held accountable for not having done so.
Repenting of and
recognizing wrongs are two separate matters.
We cannot repent of something we did not personally do. If our ancestors behaved abominably, their
sin will be upon their own heads. “The son shall not suffer for the iniquity
of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the
wicked shall be upon himself.” (Ezekiel 18:20, ESV) We can however, fully
recognize a wrong that has been committed in the past or is being done in the
present and work to eradicate it. If we
have participated in a sin through action, thought, word or deed, then we must repent
and make amends to those we harmed.
God alone knows
the heart and the motives. There is no “one size fits all” for repentance and
restitution, as each situation will have its own unique set of circumstances. Sometimes sin is not a sin of action but of inaction,
when we could have done something and did not. “So whoever knows the right thing to do and
fails to do it, for him it is sin.” (James 4:17, ESV).
When we fail to love one another we are violating God's command. “You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the
great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39, ESV) Jesus also said, “A new
command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another.” (John 13:34, NIV)
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