Shonda Ponder

In the process of learning to like myself, I had to come up with rules. I knew if I didn't have a clear understanding of right and wrong, life would become confusing and complicated.

The world is full of people from different cultures, with different values, who form different opinions of what right and wrong. As I was growing up, I first looked to my parents to guide me in right from wrong; but, as I grew older, I realized there were times when I didn't agree with their decisions. Their opinion of right and wrong did not coincide with what I believed. I had began looking to a higher power.

I had read the Bible and realized that, although right may not have always happened in the Bible, God's opinion of right and wrong was never in a gray area. This was attractive to my needs. I learned to pray when I was confused; and, when I couldn't find the answer in the Bible, I looked to God for guidance.

Because listenening to God requires patience that I didn't have at first, I had to come to the realization that I wasn't perfect -- and no matter how hard I would try, I was never going to be. Mistakes are a part of life. They are essential learning experiences that communicate God's opinion of right and wrong when the answers cannot be found. It is inevitable that I am going to make mistakes in life. I firmly believe God does not condemn man for making mistakes, but rather for how he handles the mistakes he makes.

I was on a Christian e-mail list once, and I responded to an email that, seemed to me, a clear issue of right and wrong. After making the response, I was attacked because of my own imperfections. Clearly, I was a sinner. I had no room to form such a rash judgment, they said. I then had to defend myself, explaining to them that, while I claim Christianity, I never claimed to be a Saint. After all, if we were all perfect, there would be no need for Jesus to have ever existed.

Some may condemn me for going to a bar to socialize and drinking a Corona, now and then. I don't believe it is a sin to consume alcoholic beverages in a social setting now and then. I do, however, believe it is a sin to overindulge in any fom, whether it means getting drunk, gorging food, staying on the internet all day, sleeping too much, or working too much.