"I Didn't Mean To..."

If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands, he is guilty.  When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect.  Leviticus 4:27-28

"I Didn't Mean To..."
By Rev. William Dohle

"I didn't mean to!  I really didn't mean to..."

How many times have we heard that statement?  From our children?  From our spouse?  From those closest to us?  Our family and friends?  How many times have we heard the excuse that we really "didn't mean to?"

Or how many times have we USED that excuse to excuse our own behavior?

That happened to me just the other night.  For some reason or other, I was not paying any attention to what my wife was saying from the bathroom.  She was muttering something about not liking how she looked and not feeling pretty or something.  And here's what I said...

"Jenny, I really feel sorry for you..."

That caused a "What?!" to be heard from the bathroom.  "You pity me for not being pretty!!"

Oh boy, I thought.  How am I going to get out of this?  I tried to tell her I didn't mean it.  That I thought she had said something else and that my intentions were pure...but that didn't really matter.  What she wanted was an apology, an admission of guilt on my part.  Then, and only then, could we move past this slip-up.

Sometimes we think that if we don't MEAN to do something that we haven't done anything.  But that's not what the Bible tells us.  At least, that's not what the book of Leviticus tells us.  Instead the Bible tells us...

If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible.(Lev. 5:17)

It would be one thing if it ended here...but unintentionality is a theme in the book of Leviticus.

If anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands... (Lev. 4:2)
If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands... (Lev. 4:13)
When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the the commands of the Lord, his God... (Lev. 4:22)
If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands... (Lev. 4:27)
If a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the Lord's holy things... (Lev. 5:15)

Obviously, God doesn't care here whether we intentionally did it or not.  God doesn't care about motives...only results.

As much as we'd like to dismiss these passages, truth be told, we need to be held responsible for our unintentional sins.  Think of all the modern day unintentional sins committed...

• Did the oil companies MEAN TO kill off the wildlife when the oil spilled in the Gulf?
• Do we MEAN TO pollute our environment and kill off nature?
• Do we MEAN TO support a system of slavery in other countries by buying cheaply made goods in our own country?

Of course we didn't mean to!  It just happened... Or individually...

• Do we MEAN TO ignore the person who is trying to say "hello" to us?
• Do we MEAN TO make our family feel like they always take second place as we run around fulfilling our own needs?
• Do we MEAN TO fail to teach our kids the faith?

And we could go on.  Unintentional sins are the most frequently committed ones because, truth be told, we are not bad people.  Most times we do not MEAN TO hurt others by what we say or do or, more often, by what we fail to say and do.  It just happens.

We just do it.

And so, God is wise to point out our unintentional sins, to bring them to light, to hold us responsible for not being responsible, and for calling us to repentance.

For that end, repentance, is really what God is after.  "A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."  (Psalm 51:17)  God doesn't call us to our unintentional sins just to make us feel guilty, but to inspire us to change around and repent for it is through repentance that we are granted forgiveness.

May we approach God and others with heart felt apologies, not just for the things we have done intentionally to them, but for those things that we have done unintentionally that a spirit of repentance and forgiveness might overshadow us all.

O Lord, I have sinned against you and against others unintentionally.  I haven't meant to do anything wrong, but I have.  Forgive me for Jesus sake.  Amen.