Lies Women Believe.....About Sin

Lie #13: I Can Sin and Get Away With It, and
Lie #14:  My Sin Isn't Really That Bad

How many of us actually think that?  Few of us would say we do.....but we do still sin.  Maybe our sins aren't "big" sins in our minds, the way we like to weigh them like we weigh the produce we're purchasing at the store.  But to God, sin is sin.  There are no big sins and no little sins ~ there is just SIN.

We tell ourselves our sins aren't really that bad, often because we have desensitized our minds with the entertainment that's available in our culture to the point that we are incapable of judging them with a Holy outlook. We hold grudges against others who have wronged us, ignoring the effects that bitterness can cause ~ emotionally, spiritually and physically.  We lose our tempers, and justify it with our circumstances.  I'll admit that my personality fits well into the "good church girl" image......I've never been drawn to much of what we, in our human minds, see as BIG sins.  But I am wretched with sin nonetheless.  That sin above.....grudges.  I don't hold them with many, but hurt me deeply ~ that grudge can be hard to let go of.  There are others, as there are for you.  Sins of envy, gluttony, pride, gossip, disrespect, laziness, selfishness......I could make an unending list of them, some blatantly obvious.....and some deceptively subtle.  We flirt with sin, thinking that the flirting isn't sin in and of itself.....but it is, and can lead to even deeper sin and deeper consequences.

We must constantly keep telling ourselves that the Enemy is a liar.  The things God calls sin, Satan tells us are fun, safe, innocent, desirable, no big deal, meeting our needs, and unavoidable.  As with most lies, there is some truth within.  Sin will often bring pleasure.....for a short time.  The consequences of sin are not so short-lived, however.

• Sin steals joy (Psalm 51:12)
• Sin removes confidence (1 John 3:19-21)
• Sin brings guilt (Psalm 51:3)
• Sin gives Satan the upper hand (2 Corin. 2:9-11)
• Sin quenches God's Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19)
• Sin brings physical damage (Psalms 38:1-11; 31:10)
• Sin causes an ache in the soul (Psalm 32:3-4)
• Sin breaks God's heart (Eph. 4:30)
• Sin opens the door to other sins (Isaiah 30:1)
• Sin breaks fellowship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2)
• Sin produces fear (Proverbs 28:1)
• Sin makes me its slave (John 8:34; Romans 6:16)

Are these prices we really want to pay?  Are these prices we can afford to pay?  Perhaps our sins won't reap consequences right away.  The consequences may wait to show themselves until the next generation.  They may wait until we stand before God Himself.  The consequences will always come eventually.

When we begin to see that every sin is a big deal, an act against God, then our view of sin will change.  When we learn to see our sins ~ each and every one ~ in the light of who God is, we will become "acutely aware of the hideousness of our sin".  And once we see the Truth, then.....we can be set free.

"One leak will sink a ship; and one sin will destroy a sinner." ~ John Bunyon

"No sin is small.  No grain of sand is small  in the mechanism of a watch." ~ Jeremy Taylor

"Unmask to me sin's deformity; that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it....Let me never forget that the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed as in the greatness of the person sinned against." ~ Puritan prayer

My verse(s) for Mustard Seed Planting:

"The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.

He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior." Psalm 24:1-5