What is Sin?

I want to get this article up, because it's important, but a fuller exposition must wait.

In short, I think that sin is those thoughts and activities which bring harm to ourselves and others. This is, obviously, a very skeletal explanation of sin, but it will have to do for now.

One reason for why I think this is that the Bible says, "All things are permissible, but not all are beneficial." To me, this says that we can do just about anything our minds can conceive, and no one will stop us, but that doesn't mean we should do them.

The Bible also lists the things God hates, which are the chief sins, and nearly all others are derivatives of these. The Ten Commandments also guide us in knowing what sin is. I think we all know what sin is. It is doing wrong. How deeply we consider sin to go is nearly individual, with more guidance from scripture letting us know that our thoughts can be sinful, especially if we indulge the thoughts.

Hopefully this is a start in knowing why God hates sin and that it has nothing to do with giving Him some reason to punish us, or to kill our fun.