When we lose, we gain.

To discover the answer, we must go back to Paradise, where the great lie originated. It can be summarized as follows: Ever since the first sin was committed, God has wanted to make one thing clear to humans: that God is God and humans are not.

This central theme is what the entire Bible conveys, yet we still fail to understand it and often resist accepting it. We tell ourselves that God is like a man and that we are almost like gods. The consequences of the original sin help us to understand why we disobey God and mistreat people—because the two things are closely related.

After sinning, Adam and Eve hid. But how can anyone hide from God, who knows everything? When examining the essence, after sinning, Augustine stated, “Sin is to turn to a created thing while turning our backs on its Creator.

However, through sin, man turned his back on God. After all, no one can see the back of their reflection in a mirror. Therefore, man hid from God in such a way that God could no longer see himself in him.

Then, in a groan of pain, God expressed his loss: ‘Adam, where are you?’ This question should have been asked by Adam himself: ‘Adam, realize where you are.’ Who am I? I am trapped behind a mirror, like Alice in Wonderland. I cannot see God because I have turned my back on Him; He no longer recognizes Himself in me.

However, when a person loses God as a point of reference in life, they must find a new fixed point to avoid getting lost in the world. With God, everything made sense and was beneficial. But who determines what is useful now?

Adam had reached this point in his ‘I’. When he turned his back on God, he had nothing left, and creation stopped obeying him. He must not lose himself. So when God asked him, ‘Why did you do this?’ he did not answer truthfully. Instead, he said, ‘I was not good.’ In an attempt to preserve his own goodness, he blamed both the woman and God: ‘The woman, you gave me  fruit, and I ate it.’ Fortunately, there was no one else there.

FEAR ATTACK

This statement answers the question of why people treat each other poorly. Since the time of Adam, they have been afraid of losing their sense of self. Driven by this fear, they attack God and other people. Just as a naturally shy animal, cornered, turns into an attacking beast, so a person convinced of their goodness and infallibility attacks those who question it. A person is simply afraid for themselves. No one should be blamed for such fear because it is natural.

However, there is also a supernatural state. As Christ says, “Do not be afraid, for I have overcome the world.” In this state, humans can find a new point of reference that is both fully human and fully divine. When I unite with Christ, who is both God and man, I no longer need to worry about my imperfect self.

Like Paul, I can say, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and he will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.”

RESTORING THE IMAGE OF GOD IN US

Through Christ, God’s perfect image is restored in humanity. Together with Paul, I too can embrace this idea: ‘Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.’ I can once again stand before God, reflecting his image in Christ, despite my lack of merit or contribution. Only in Christ can we once again reflect the image of God.

In him, we no longer need to fear admitting our failures, because as Saint Peter says, he took on our sins and suffered for them. Therefore, through him, we can have a relationship with God despite still being sinners.

We can also be kind and pleasant to others, even when they criticize us. This will no longer affect our self-worth because, as Saint Paul says, anyone who is in Christ is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come.

When we meet an unpleasant person, let us remember that they too are driven by a supposed fear of their own ‘self,’ without which they feel lost in this world. Then let us sigh with Christ: ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’