He filled the airwaves with laughter. He created characters like Willie Lump Lump, Cauliflower McPugg, Freddie the Freeloader and Clem Kadiddlehopper. He became a world-famous artist whose specialty was paintings of clowns. He was famed for his recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to our country. He always ended his shows with the words “God bless!”
One of Red Skelton’s most enjoyed characters was Junior, the Mean Widdle Kid. Every so often Junior would get into mischief and eventually confess by saying, “I dood it.”
For the most part, there’s a little of Junior in all of us. George Washington confessed that he could not tell a lie — that he was the one who cut down a cherry tree, or so the story goes. But did George Washington commit a sin or sins?
What is sin? Is it the candy bar a youngster sneaks off a convenience store? Is it a teenager who creates mischief in a classroom? Is it stealing a car? A sin is any thought or action that falls short of God’s will. Only God is perfect, and anything we do that falls short of his perfection is sin.
And who is a sinner? A thief? A person who libels someone else? Are you a sinner? Am I?
In Romans 3:23 it is written, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God …” That means me and you. I’m not perfect — just ask my wife. I’ve told untruths. I’ve tended to exaggerate if I saw some benefit from doing so. I’ve avoided unpleasant tasks that might have helped someone else. I’ve done or said things that I later wished I hadn’t. I’ve sinned with things I committed and sinned by not speaking out or acting in a godly way.
James 4:17 states, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
I confess to be a sinner. But my love of Christ and my confession of sin assure me that I am a forgiven sinner. It doesn’t end there, though — God calls for me to go further than that and at least strive for perfection.
How about you? How about your sins? Do you suppose, like me, that it is a matter of serious importance between us and God?
