In the beginning, God declared all of creation to be very good. If God declares that overwhelming goodness looks like the abundant wellness of all relationships, then sin is anything that breaks relationships. The counteroffer is sin, which brings separation, distrust of God, and a reliance on human protection rather than dependence on God.
Shalom says we are all connected. Every relationship created by God is strung together in a web of intimate relationships. To affect one is to affect all. So when our distrust of God leads us to separate ourselves from God, we are all separated from ourselves. We govern ourselves in our own ways, not in God’s ways. We don’t trust ourselves. We don’t choose ourselves. Even the narcissist, who seems to choose only himself, does it because of his fear that his inherent unworthiness will be exposed. He places the barrier of the appearance of perfection between himself and everyone else as protection from exposure.
Lisa Sharon Harper is the author of The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right along with several other books. A sought-after speaker, she is also the chief church engagement officer at Sojourners. Content excerpted from The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper Copyright © 2016 by Lisa Sharon Harper. Excerpted by permission of WaterBrook, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
