Everybody knows the beginning and the end.. The Abstinence and the Sin...
Everyone knows how to abstain.. there are moral guidelines... religious teachings.. strict parental guidance.. friend to friend accountability and so on.. we pretty much know how to maintain a life of abstinence.. we know how to avoid and prevent.. whether or not we end up doing it is another matter
Everyone knows how it feels too.. To feel justified and righteous... to know that you did the right thing and will continue to do so... the security and peace it brings to whoever that observes it.. it is good..
Similarly, everyone knows the consequences of sinning.. we have all the warning we can get in a lifetime and as far back as history can tell, many people have fallen before and we can pretty much expect the same cause and effect when we do something wrong.. not just anything wrong.. but the clear , definable , distinct wrong.. socially recognised and despised.. whether or not we end up committing the sin is another matter...
Everyone also knows how it feels.. we know what to expect when we commit such hideous crimes.. the shame it brings, the self-loathing, the penalty to pay, the apologies to make, to patches to amend... we know it well... all too well...
But what happens when someone falls inside the in-between? what happens in the gap? how are we supposed to feel or react? do we deal with it or shove it aside? it is blurry and grey.. people can't really tell what is going on... there are no manuals, no socially accepted set of values and penalties ... just you and the gap...
Just you and the gap
