Death vs. Sin

December 30, 2010 at 9:52 pm · Filed under Lifestyle/Halachah and tagged: death, death of a loved one, hating sin, Jewish culture, sin, sinning, Thomas Watson, yahrzeit

by cndllighter

In a conversation I had, my attention was recently brought to the fact that we should hate sin more than anything – even the death of a loved one. I pondered this for a moment, taking it in. Death is very serious in the Jewish culture, and as you know, the death of a loved one is mourned every year, with the annual reminder of their yahrzeit. The point was clarified with the following quote by Thomas Watson:

We must grieve more for offending G-d than for the loss of dear relations. Sorrow for sin must exceed sorrow at the grave, and with good reason; for in the burial of the dead it is only a friend who departs, but in sin…G-d departs.

We must hate it, dread it, flee from it, and fear the places where it inhabits; for G-d is watching over all.

Comments