When I think of sins I think simply of the seven deadly sin. The sins I should never commit or dreaded consequences will come upon me. You know them; lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, wrath, envy and pride. These sins I have pretty much in check except for an occasion gorging myself on nachos or laying around when I should be doing laundry.
I prefer to speak today about things that are sinful but do not fall into the categories I talked about in the first paragraph. I think of sin not as a behavior but as something that goes against God. Things that go on in my mind or heart or in my words that are not peaceful or kind.
Rick Warren once spoke about four characteristics of sin and how to determine what is sin. I will share those with you. First sin is anything that God would frown upon and would not find as something good or that we appreciate.
1 Timothy 4:4 For everything God has created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
As we move through our day are we constantly sinning with our habits? For example when we stand in line at the coffee shop and we impatiently tap our foot and huff because the barista isn’t moving quickly enough. We act as if we will fall over dead because our coffee isn’t ready the exact moment we think it should be. Is that a sin because we are being unkind? Of course it is , this is a human barista not Superman.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Rick also said that anything that goes against love is considered a sin. Judgement, hatred, gossip, avoidance and breaking the law are all examples of non-loving acts. I have see all five of these things happen at once. I was at a meeting when someone came up to me and said, “I have a juicy piece of gossip to tell you and don’t sit at Lisa’s table because she is annoying. By the way, I hate that new insurance guy that just came in!” All this was said in practically one breath as this guy then threw his paper coffee cup on the sidewalk. Whoa, I was exhausted and so offended in 45 seconds. He had no clue he committed five sins in less than a minute. This behavior was normal for him and he was oblivious to it.
I have talked to many people about sin and they feel that if they don’t break any commandments or partake in the “seven bad sins” they are good with God. I am not trying to judge anyone but I think they are forgetting about the simple everyday sins. The sins that become part of our every day that are not Christlike.
Sins can also be in our selfish nature. Selfish sins focus only on you and what you want. Take these for example; whining, lying, criticizing, suspiciousness, being defiant or neglectful. Each one of these is a selfish act and not performed in servitude. We are here for God’s purpose and to serve Him by serving others. We need to take ourselves out of the picture because God will provide and reward us when we do His work.
James 3:16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
The last way I would like to talk about sin is the TV shows we watch. It seems now with cable, streaming and other means of watching shows and video we are constantly polluting our minds . I have talked before about shaping our minds through positive reading and uplifting programming. Remember you are what you think. When I look at my TV guide listings I see crime shows, sitcoms making fun of others, harsh political news channels, shows on ghost hunting and demons and Live PD shows showing crimes as they happen. All of these shows pollute our mind. So lets look at this, crime shows portray murders, sitcoms shows make fun of people of certain races, religions and sexual preference just for the sake of making fun of people. Harsh political news channels cram slighted views down our throats. I don’t need to even begin to say what’s wrong with ghost hunting and demon TV. Lastly, do we really want to see the people being arrested for driving without a license, under the influence or all the drugs found inside someone’s car? It you want to watch Live PD and pray for the people whose lives are being messed up then I will commend you for that.
You would never invite someone into your house to commit a murder, slander others, force political views on you or open a portal for the devil so why sit in your home and watch it? It only serves to pollute your mind and thoughts and again your thoughts form your life. I consider this a sin. Why not turn off the TV?
Romans 2:5-8 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
My purpose of this blog post is not to chastise or judge anyone but to have you rethink the daily things that you do. I work consistently to try to better myself and act more like Jesus. I struggle daily with this but every day that I make one small step of progress is a day I can feel my heart soften and grow kinder. It’s not easy but when I think of sinning I think of Jesus on the cross.
I pray that you feel God’s love and peace and you know that He is always walking with you. LoLo
gratefulgratitude.net 