Is This A Sin? dot com

In the spirit of Christmas, I thought it fitting to put one of my personal pet peeves to the “sin” test.

“Re-gifting” is the practice of giving a person a present that you previously received as a present.  It is a good way to save money on gifts.  It also sends a clear message to the person you received the gift from that this is not the kind of present that you wish to receive again, especially if they are there when the “re-gift” is opened.

I have begun the practice of giving gifts that cannot be “re-gifted”, by placing the name of the individual somewhere on the gift (the only way to “re-gift” that is to find someone else named Bob).

While, I have a high dislike for this practice, does it qualify as a sin?  Here are the facts:

• Regifting was featured in an episode of Seinfeld as a horrid practice, earning the offending party the heinous title of “regifter”.
• In 1 Chronicles 21, King David is given the chance to “regift” a burnt offering to the Lord.  He responds, in verse 24, by saying, “I will not offer that which costs me nothing.”
• Oprah is a well-known regifter, but has specific rules for regifting, including re-wrapping the present and remembering who you first got the gift from, so as not to regift to the original giver.
• The Environmental Protection Agency has declared “regifting” to be “green gifting”, helping to prevent additional waste product and thus preventing global warming trends.
• The book of Leviticus offers various instructions for the transfer of property.  One of the chief rules is that the property must have been “purchased for a tangible cost”.  Sounds like a strike against regifting to me.

So, I stand by my original thought.  Re-gifting must be a sin.

What do you think?  Is this a sin?  Cast your vote now.

This could be a very interesting topic.

In the United States, substance use is governed strictly.  Certain substances are legal to ingest (re: alcohol, tobacco, prescription medications), while others are restricted (re: illicit drugs, non-prescription narcotics).  Task forces are created to stop the drug problem.  Violent crimes run rampant as a result of illegal drug sales and trafficking.  This has caused some to argue for the legalization of certain drugs that are currently restricted.

When I look to the Bible for help, however, I notice that it is silent regarding substance use (or abuse).  The only substance that it mentions would be alcohol, which was addressed with regards to moderation, not abstinence.  This leads to the question of the day, of course.  Is it a sin to use illegal drugs?  We could narrow it down.  Some think that marijuana is okay, while heroin is wrong.  Some believe that prescription and over-the-counter medications are just as harmful as their more controversial counterparts.  But, what does God think?  Is this a sin?

Here are the facts:

• In numerous places in the Bible, people are admonished to obey the laws of the authorities that govern them (Matthew 22, Romans 13).  However, on several occasions, disciples of Christ were thrown in prison for their disobedience when it comes to the preaching of the Gospel.
• According to a recent public health survey, only 8% of persons over the age of 12 claimed to have ingested an illegal substance in the past month (the equivalent of 17.5 million United States citizens).
• From a medical standpoint, alcohol consumption is far more lethal than marijuana usage.  Cigarette tobacco is universally accepted as a carcinogen and far more addictive than marijuana.
• Harder drugs (such as heroin and cocaine) are amongst some of the most addictive substances on earth and lead to hundreds of thousands of overdose-related emergency room visits every year.
• Over 85% of cocaine users claim to have been introduced to recreational drug use through marijuana.
• 1 Corinthians specifically addresses our respect for our bodies as “the temple of the Holy Spirit”, advising us to flee from sexual immorality and other vices which may harm the temple.
• 99% of 5th graders answered a public school survey with “Doing drugs is wrong.”  68% of 6th graders answered the same way.  9th graders drop to 47% on the same survey.

It’s a lot of information.  But, does it address the “sin” question?  Remember James 4, where the Bible says “If a man knows the right thing to do and doe it not, for him it is sin.”?  Since illicit “drug” use was not an issue in the Bible, we may have to incorporate some good logic into the mix.  It is obvious that heavy drug use is harmful and moderation is next to impossible.  Do we really have to have it spelled out to add it to the list?

What do you think?  Is this a sin?  Cast your vote today!