If you are awake at midnight on New Year’s Eve, you will hear the song “Auld Lang Syne” sung or played wherever you are. It is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788, translated into English and set to music. It is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year and welcome in the new one (Auld Lang Syne = Old Long Since, meaning Times Gone By). It is a moment highlighted by good wishes, toasting to prosperity, a smooch here and there, but most of all, it is a moment of looking forward to a fresh start, a new beginning.
In case you have ever wondered about the original, here are the English and original Scottish versions side by side.
|
Auld Lang Syne – English version |
Original Scottish Version |
| Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne? CHORUS: And surely you’ll buy your pint cup! We two have run about the slopes, We two have paddled in the stream, And there’s a hand my trusty friend! |
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne*? CHORUS: And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup! We twa hae run about the braes, We twa hae paidl’d in the burn, And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere! |
To what are you bidding farewell, and what are you welcoming into the new year? Typically people examine their bad habits and resolve to change them. Sadly the resolutions often don’t make it past January. Old habits are so resistant to elimination. So often they are sparked by familiarity—people, places, and things—that set off the compulsion.
But what if the “bad habit” is outright sin? We need to be able to identify the difference between a bad habit and sin, which could be a tricky thing. They could be either or both. Whether or not cheating on a spouse is habitual, we can agree that it is sin. Nail biting is a bad habit. On first thought, I would say it is not sin, but then again, maybe it is. I wouldn’t make a doctrine out of nailbiting, but sin simply defined is thinking or doing that which is harmful in body, soul, or spirit to God, self, and others.
How do we righteously define what is sin? Is it only transgressions and wrongdoings against God and His Laws? Matthew 18 indicates that it is willful harm done to another. “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother (Matt. 18:15). Peter asked Jesus about sinning against people, “Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (Matt. 18:21). Jesus answered seventy times seven times (490), a metaphor for forgiveness without end.
Sin is not always an action. It could be an attitude or frame of mind. “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). It could be the ruminations of impure thoughts. “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28).
Generally, I am not one to focus on sin because Jesus came to free us from sin consciousness so that we can focus on God consciousness. What, then is the solution when sin does occur? It is really a simple one—forgiveness extended by the victim and forgiveness received by the offender.
Repeatedly Jesus forgave sin and tells us to forgive. It does not necessarily mean that there are no consequences of lawbreaking even when forgiveness is offered. For example, if people are caught burglarizing a home, they will most likely have to pay the penalty of law even when the homeowner forgives the wrongdoing. Forgiveness, however, frees the one who is harmed from building a wall of offense and frees the perpetrator of deep guilt. Forgiveness frees and empowers us to make the changes in our lives to live victoriously as God intended.
Auld Lang Syne speaks of remembering the best of days gone by and a reunion from a long parting of the ways. It reminds me that we have opportunities for remembering the goodness of God and that He invites us to rejoin His fellowship even when we have parted ways. My family and I extend to all of you our best thoughts and blessings to you and yours for 2016. May it be your best year ever and filled with expectations for more. God bless you in abundance.
Copyright 2015 by Eva Benevento
All rights reserved.