There
are certain sins that Christians are always good at pointing out - usually in
others. And there are obviously sins that we are shocked and appalled by, and
usually see these sins as worse than others. But the reality is, all sin
separates us from Christ. There aren’t degrees of separation – you are either
reconciled to God or you are a stranger to him (see Colossians 1:21-22), there
is no in-between.
We can trick ourselves into believing
that it’s the really “big” sins we have to avoid, all the while ignoring deadly
sin in our own lives. Make no mistake—all sin is wrong, all sin needs to be
confessed and all of us need to walk away from our sinful tendencies and
through humble, dependent faith, walk in righteousness.
Here
are 8 sins we tend to ignore but can’t afford to ignore any longer.
1. Selfishness/Self-Righteousness
How
often did Jesus call out the Pharisees in the New Testament? All. The. Time.
And it was always for self righteousness or selfishness. If you have to
compliment yourself on something good you’ve done, then you aren’t doing it
right. So many of us like to display our faithful acts so that others will know
what good Christians we are. Christ doesn’t care what everyone else thinks of
your generosity. He cares about your heart and your
motivation. If you need other people to know about the good things you do,
feel, or think in order to feel validated, then you need to re-evaluate.
2. Patriotism
For the record, I do NOT think
patriotism in and of itself is a sin. I put this here because all too often we
put faith and Christian values in the same box as political party and
patriotism. The bible is clear about the fact that Jesus’ name will be declared
to ALL nations and peoples of the world. We shout, “‘Merica!” and talk about
how much better we are than everyone else, but that’s not biblical. We project
Christianity on to the American flag and assume that God acts American, but
that’s not how it works. Celebrate American values and understand how blessed
you are to live here, but remember that at the end of the day you are a citizen
of heaven, and heaven will be full of people from all over the world.
3. Fear/Worry
Jesus is very clear about worrying. He
flat out tells us not to worry. Faith requires trust.1 John 4:8 says, “There is no fear in
love. But perfect love drives out fear. . .” God is love. He loved us enough to
send his son to die to atone for our sins. His love is perfect; therefore, we
should have nothing to fear. I know fear is inevitable sometimes. It is a major
struggle for me. We are not perfect, but fear and worry are not part of the
equation with Christ. These attitudes that imply a lack of faith. All we can do
is remember that God is sovereign and always in control.
4. Pride
We talk about pride all the time in
church. We consistently discuss how detrimental and dangerous it is, but it
seems like we don’t recognize what pride actually is. We don’t realize that
every time we refuse someone forgiveness we are acting in pride. Every time you
argue with a friend, family member, or spouse and insist that you will not be
the one to apologize first then you act out of pride. Remember the grace that
Christ extends to you and try to extend that same grace and forgiveness to
others.
5. Gluttony/Coveting
This sin is closely related to pride.
We bury ourselves in debt in order to make sure we have the best and newest
things. The disciples often lived off of the generosity of others and Jesus was
a poor carpenter. I’m not saying that wealth is inherently bad. It’s not. If
you can afford that Mercedes, by all means, buy it. But if you can’t; if you
are spending hundreds of dollars each month paying off debt, then you could be
committing a modern form of gluttony. You need to look inside yourself and
search your heart. If your nice things were taken away, would you still be satisfied
and able to find joy in Christ? Why are you really in debt? Who are you trying
to impress, God or men?
6. Gossip
I’m from the South, and there is an
unspoken rule here that you can say whatever you want about someone as long as
you follow it with, “Bless her heart!” I am as guilty of this as anyone. We
like to talk about other people’s lives as if we live in their heads and know
everything about them. This is something “churchy” people are constantly
accused of, and is often the result of a judgemental attitude (covered below).
Why won’t the woman who had an abortion come to your church? Because she’s
afraid of the looks you’ll give her and the distance at which you will keep
her. The same could be said for the pregnant 16 year old or the man who cheated
on his wife. Sure, it’s nice to escape our own issues by talking about someone
else’s for a while, but let’s try to remember to speak with grace and that our
sin is just as sinful as anyone else’s.
7. Hatred
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
tells us what we already know - that murder is wrong - but he follows that up
by saying that anyone who has harbored hatred towards someone has committed
murder in his heart. Hatred is connected intimately with fear. We fear people
we don’t understand and that fear causes us to hate them irrationally. The
general attitude towards all Muslims based on the acts of a small sect is a
perfect example of this. We also tend to harbor hatred against those who have
hurt us. We constantly need to be searching our heart and monitoring our
thoughts and feelings.
8. Judgment
This one is the kicker. This is what
will be the death of our faith and our influence. I know that Paul tells the
churches to expel sinners from their midst. He encourages us not to indulge
someone in sinful behavior. We use those verses to justify judgement of others
and I believe this is a gross misinterpretation of scripture.
The truth of Jesus is in our equality.
We are all sinners in need of a Savior. Christians have
accepted Christ and avoided condemnation based on faith and the grace of God.
We do not avoid condemnation based on our own actions. Every
time we think less of someone else, we forget that we are also sinners. The
only way to avoid this sin is to acknowledge our own weaknesses and to embrace
humility. In fact, that could help us avoid a multitude of sins.
Title : 8 Sins Saints are Starting to Disregard
Description : There are certain sins that Christians are always good at pointing out - usually in others. And there are obviously sins that we are...