p. 7 | The Hurt of Sin

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jan 27, 1909

The Hurt of Sin.

“It hurts like Sin.” Thus we heard a man speak some days ago. We wondered if he realized the significance and force of his simile. Sin hurts. It does nothing else, that is its business. It is a sharp, double-edged sword, and it cuts deep. It is the vile vitrol of the devil’s laboratory, and its blistering burns blight the beauty of human life, leaving scars which are carried throughout eternity.

The individual who carries sin in his bosom is as foolish as the man who knowingly harbors an assassin in his bed-chamber. Both strike, and both strike to kill. And yet how true it is that familiarity with sin, like familiarity with danger, emboldens us to risk its presence. As has been said:

“Sin is a monster of so frightful mien, That to be hated needs but to be seen, But seen too oft, familiar with its face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace.” — Philippine Christian Advocate.