But it is a complicated word and concept. The most concise definition I can come up with - which adheres to scripture - is that sin is anything which separates us from God.

I have always been a perfectionist. I'm not exactly sure why. I think it must be part of my nature. My parents never pressured me to be perfect. I didn't get in trouble if I wasn't perfect. But I've always felt the need to be perfect. And I was pretty good at it. I was pretty much the perfect child. Case in point:

• I didn't cause trouble. 
• I made people laugh. One time when my Sunday School teacher asked us how we can show the love of Jesus to our neighbors, my reply was "don't say damn!" How cute! 
• I never disobeyed my parents. 
• I got straight A's, (except for that one B in jr. high - curses!)
• I never ran away from home. Although one time I missed the bus and I ran away "to home." My parents were out of town and we had a babysitter staying with us. I didn't want to tell her I missed the bus so I snuck in the house and hid under the bed. When I didn't get off the bus after school she got worried and called the associate pastor. He found me and had to spend an hour convincing me to come out. Silly kid.
• I took care of my mom when she was sick. I always prided myself on how fast I could run down the stairs and get her a diet coke. I'd run as fast as I could just to impress her. I was amazing.

Sure, there were things I did that weren't ideal. Such as:

• I liked to play with snakes. One time I buried a dead snake behind the garage. Then the next morning I dug it up, stuck it in my overalls, and brought it to church with me. My parents didn't like that.
• I couldn't make up my mind. I went to "Dave's tumbling" when I was young and I kept quitting, and rejoining, and quitting, and rejoining. One time I quit so I could stay home and watch Superman. I'm not sure why my parents allowed that. I guess they just didn't want to be too strict when it came to extracurricular activities.
• I had a thing for black guys. I don't think there's anything wrong with this - I mean, heck, I married one. But it does make parents nervous knowing that there is still racism in this world - and to think your child is going to be treated badly...well, no parent wants that. But to their credit, they never said it was wrong, or that I couldn't date them. I think they just prayed a little harder.
• I liked shiny things. I was at Kmart one time and my dad was looking at something in the hardware section. And...ooh! Shiny thing on the ground! Must...pick...it...up...now. It was a key. And it just happened to belong to a lock and key set that was for sale. But - hey...it was on the ground, so finders keepers, right? Well, I was trying to fit it into the lock on our garage door when dad comes up and says, "Whatcha playing with?" When he found out it was from Kmart he made me go back there, give it to an employee, and apologize. Oh, the shame! But, it was a lesson learned. At least until I took that watch from Steven's house.

So, seriously - compared to most kids - I was a saint. Then...I turned 16. But that's a story for another time.

So, what is it that drove me to perfection? It wasn't the threat of punishment. I wasn't beat into submission or told I was worthless like some kids. I think it had to do with the look on my parents' faces when I did well. They were always so proud of me and they let me know it. On those rare occasions where I would be less than stellar, all my dad had to do was look at me and I would start to cry. I think he may have had to spank me and my brother a total of three times in our lives. But, holy crap...it hurt.

...I've written a lot more on this subject, but I don't want to put it all in one post. So, you'll just have to keep checking back for new posts...