Sin bin Sunday

Yesterday was called “Sin bin Sunday” by the Sydney news media. Seven players were sent to the sin bin (Appendix) in a game for the first time in Australian Rugby League history.

When rugby league players commit a serious offence (such as a head-high tackle), they are sent from the field for 10 mins. In the meantime, their team has one less player that the opposition.

In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport’s rules. A “send-off” applies to offences that are more serious than a “sin bin”.

Life sentence

Sins in life are more important than sins in sports. The Bible says that “everyone has sinned” (Rom. 3:23NLT). This means that we all think say or do things that are against God’s will. We can all act as though we are more important than God is. The Bible says that the penalty for this is harsher than a “sin bin” or a “send off”. In fact, it’s a life sentence! “The wages of sin is death” (Rom.6:23NLT). And a death sentence!

Fortunately that’s not the end of this verse, because it says, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23NLT). So by trusting that Jesus took the penalty for our sin, we can have eternal life rather than eternal death.

Appendix

“The penalty box or sin bin (sometimes called the bad box, or simply bin or box) is the area in ice hockey, rugby union, rugby league, roller derby and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offence not severe enough to merit outright expulsion from the contest. Teams are generally not allowed to replace players who have been sent to the penalty box.” (Wikipedia)

Written, September 2022