Thursday, May 21, 2009

Respectable Sins - Part 1

Over the next few weeks we are going to discuss some of the more respectable sins in our lives. None of us - that I know of - have committed any of the really 'serious' sins such as adultery, murder, homosexuality, etc. However, many of us, myself included, have allowed various 'respectable' sins to continue on in our lives.

Pride
I believe that we can find pride at the root of all of the sin in our lives. Pride shows itself in a multitude of ways. Obviously, we can all think of situations where we can exercise a sinful pride. But what about when we exhibit moral self righteousness? What about when we look down at others who we feel are less moral than us? Do we recognize these situations as sin? How about when we show pride of our correct doctrine? We have better doctrine than that other guy, obviously we are the better Christian and he is simply to be looked down upon and dismissed. Does having better doctrine give us the right to be prideful? Or does it offer us an opportunity to give thanks to God for the grace He has shown in our lives?

Unthankfulness
There are times in all of our lives when it is difficult to find something - anything - to be thankful for. But it is necessary for us to be constantly giving thanks to God for the work that He has done and is still doing in our lives. Whenever we are unable to find true thankfulness to God in our hearts it is sin. We should pull back, look at our lives in the big picture rather than the here and now, rather than the specific situation that is going on right now, and we should thank God. The mercy and grace that He has shown us is impossible for us to ever comprehend. This fact alone makes our opportunities to show thankfulness unlimited.

2 comments:

Leila said...

Nichole, nice reminder, pride is one of those sins that most of pretend we don't struggle with, but in shows it self in so many ways. And since you brought it up I just wanted thank you for all the time, thought and effort you but into your posts. I just wanted to let you know that I am reading them daily even though I don't always comment on them. Thanks again!!!

jasmine aldrich said...

Great post, Nichole. You are right, we have so much to be thankful for, yet it is a constant struggle. It is very important to actively cultivate a thankful heart. Of course the great sin of pride hinders that!

It makes me sick how often I excuse these very sins in my own life because they don't seem that bad. Yet, they are extremely offensive to God who hates the heart of pride which leads to an unthankful attitude.