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There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I’ve used that proverb before, have you? It means multiple ways to do something exist. But where did the phrase originate? Who skinned cats? It sounds rather gruesome.
Some evidence suggests the phrase described a Pine Martin, a fur bearing animal of the weasel family. In Ireland, they were called “treecats.” So, it may stem from fur trapping. It first appeared in literature in a book by Seba Smith in 1854. Mark Twain and other authors also used it.* But the idiom should not be taken literally. Today, we all know it means more than one way exists to accomplish a task.
Which brings us to 1 John 1:10, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (NIV) The claim John refers to is the absence of past sins. Many ways to make the claim exist. Some claim their actions were not wrong. Others claim sin itself is a figment of the imagination. They deny anything is truly, morally wrong, usually because they deny the existence of God. But whatever the heart of the denial is, people who claim they have not sinned effectively call God a liar.
Today, let’s acknowledge our sin to God because he is faithful to forgive and purify us from it.
*”More Than One Way To Skin A Cat,” Grammarist, 2022, https://grammarist.com/phrase/more-than-one-way-to-skin-a-cat/
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.