Facebook, Virus, and Sin

The other day I hit the wrong thing on Facebook and set a virus in motion. After 24 hours it was taken care of. It took time to get the computer cleaned up. More importantly it took an emotional toll. It was pretty bad stuff that ended up in many people’s Facebook and it had my name on it! I did some reflection on the whole thing and made a fresh discovery.

Facebook is trustworthy. That is the assumption from which I was operating. When I got the Facebook email notice I was doing a couple of other things. The name associated with the message was familiar. I opened it. Soon when I looked closely I realized I should not have done so. Frankly had I gotten the message as an email I would have immediately deleted it. But Facebook has always been free from the objectionable material that is so prevalent on the internet. So I hit the button and the adventure began.

I soon realized that there was very questionable material going to every one of my Facebook friends. (most are still friends – I think) So I began the task of stopping it. Twelve hours later things were still going out. Twenty-four hours later we had it stopped. (Thanks for www.malwarebytes.org)

It was a malicious virus. It did not hurt people but it was embarrassing. It did not cost money but it created deep discomfort in me. I lost a morning’s prayer time searching my heart and trying to stop the spread of the virus. But I also received a fresh insight of a spiritual nature.

I recently preached a sermon on the topic of sin. I named five types of sin: sins of commission, sins of omission, sins of neglect, sins of ignorance and sins of errors. I could have added systemic sins which affect innocent people.

In light of this understanding of sin I saw what was happening with the Facebook virus. I was seeking to apply the lesson to my own experience and life. Here are the insights.

First I could have been operating from a totally deviate place. I could have been committing a “willful transgression against a known law of God.” I could have been taking an intentional, willful, malicious action. I assure you this was not the case. Whew.

On the other extreme I could have been a pure victim. A hacker could have randomly attacked my account and caused everything that ensued. If I could that is the picture I would like to believe. But I don’t think I can say I had absolutely nothing to do with the activity.

Two other type of sin are the sins of ignorance and neglect. Upon reflection this is where I find myself. My primary transgression in this process was neglect. Had I paid attention to what I was doing I would have simply deleted the post immediately and never had anything happen. But I was doing other things. I was on Facebook which I did not consider a source for this type of activity. I recognized a name and failed to pay attention to the message. So I see myself as guilty of the sin of neglect.

Stay with me on this. We teach that there are not degrees of sin. But at the same time we teach there are different categories of sin. In the category mindset a willful malicious act is worse than neglect which is worse than innocent complicity. But it is in the result of sin that we cannot have degrees of sin.

Here is what I mean. Had I been willful and malevolent in my action or ignorant or negligent, the result would be the same. The virus spreads and infects others. The fact that I acted out of neglect rather than malice did not keep the virus from spreading to others and infecting their computers. A virus is a virus. Sin is sin.

The world we live in is full of sin. There are some really heinous things going on. There are “little sins.” There are the things we call victimless sins. But the reality is that sin is sin and all sin spreads and infects others. We may have the best of intentions but if we error the sir spreads and infects.

If nothing else this reminds me of how important it is to recognize and work with the doctrine or original sin. This stuff is everywhere! Even those who act in good faith but are in opposition to the revealed will of God become agents for the spread and infection of the sin nature.

Thankfully there is an antidote. I turned to others for help. Some suggested I run a virus scan. (I had.) Some suggested I change my password. (I did.) We contacted our IT company and they referred us to a download that would remove the problem. Pastor Curtis helped me navigate through the process. The virus was cleansed. The problem stopped.

Here is the spiritual application. We have another to turn to. We turn to God in repentance. (virus scan) We look for help to point us out of our struggle through the fellowship of the Church. (IT company) We apply an application – the cross of Jesus Christ – and find our sins removed. Our savior, Jesus Christ, cleans up the problem of sin.

One more point to the story. I posted how we got my problem solved and shared with others. There were some who got hit pretty hard. We shared how to clean up their computer. The remedy went to everyone in my friends list.

We continue the story by sharing with others how the grace of God in Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin and unrighteousness. We have good news to share. We certainly tell others how to get rid of a virus on their computer. We may also tell others how to experience redeemed love and grace through Jesus Christ.

I wish I had not been negligent and “dumb.” But I think I am more thankful for learning something and gaining a fresh insight. I certainly am sorry for the inconvenience I may have caused others to experience. But I am grateful for the reminder that I have a great gospel to share. Good news.

Steve