“I will give away all my sins to know thee”. These words were spoken in prayer by Lamoni’s Father, the King of the Lamanite nation. Many times, I have pondered over that statement and what it means to me. Are sins like commodities that can be traded? Is there no cost associated with the disposal of sins? Doubtful. How can one, therefore, say, “I will give away all my sins to know thee?
To sin is to willfully disobey God. Sin can also include failing to do good when you know it is right. The apostle James instructs “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
A cold night
Years ago, on a cold night, I found myself at a gas station filling my tank. While there I heard the distinct sound of a car driving on a flat tire and watched this car pull into the gas station. My less-than-charitable thoughts were something like “Oh man, sucks to be you”. And “it’s a cold night to have to change a tire” while I proceeded to fill my tank.
A young woman got out of the car carrying a baby and went inside the gas station. A small voice said to me “Go help her”. Immediately, I thought, “no, she’s probably calling her husband, there is no need”. As I finished filling my tank and prepared to leave, this small voice repeated “Go help her”. I watched her exit the gas station and get back into the car. Again, I refused the voice and said, “I’m sure someone is on their way right now to help her.” Followed by “if I tried, I’d just scare her…and she’d probably refuse anyway”. And “it’s cold and dark, and I need to get home.”
Go back!
As I began to leave the gas station, a van pulled into the parking spot next to the young woman’s car. And I immediately said to myself, “see, help has arrived”. As I drove home, this small voice became very insistent, “Go back and help her!” It repeated over and over again in my thoughts. About halfway home, I finally responded to the voice in my head. “OK! I’ll go back, but you’re wrong, someone has probably already helped her and it’s a waste of time.”
Pulling into the station, the van was gone, and the car was still there. The tire was still flat, and the poor young woman with her baby was still waiting. I was scared that my approach would traumatize this poor young lady. Walking to her car, I said to the voice “you’d better be right, or this could turn out badly”. I knocked gently on her window.
Can I help?
“I see you have a flat tire; do you need any help? If you have a spare, I can change it for you.” I said. This poor young woman nearly burst into tears. She said, “I don’t know what to do! I can’t get a hold of my husband. I don’t even know if I have a spare tire. What do I do?” After a moment of assurance, I asked her to pop the trunk and I would look for her. All that was necessary was in there, and I assured her that I’d have her on her way shortly.
About halfway through changing the tire, a young man approached the car. It was her husband. As I looked up, this young man, said, “Sir, thank you for helping my wife. I got here as soon as I got her message, but I don’t know how to change a tire. And I didn’t know what we were going to do.” I smiled at the young man and said, “Well today is your lucky day, I’ll teach you and you’ll never have to worry again!” He was eager to learn and did a fine job following my instructions to finish the task. They were a sweet young family and thanked me profusely for my kindness.
Do something right
As I drove home, I had a lot of repenting to do. Had I immediately responded to that voice that said “Go help her”, I could have saved this family a great deal of anxiety. My attitude toward serving another in need was poor indeed. I acted as the priest who crossed to the other side of the road upon seeing the wounded traveler.
I regret my initial response to this day, yet God knew that I was needed that night. He did not easily let me off the hook, and eventually, I did go. God blessed me to learn a powerful lesson. He taught me that sin isn’t always doing something wrong, sometimes sin isn’t doing something right.
There is a cost to every sin. And we cannot simply give them away. But Jesus Christ has paid the price, with drops of his precious blood, to overcome the cost of all sins. So, today my friends, let us give away all our sins and do something right.
