Beware the Little Pieces of Sin
Being hyper vigilant regarding our own sin
Recently I was hand-washing one of our glass bowls when it slipped out of my hand. For a split second I thought, “Nah, that’s not going to shatter.” Not sure why I thought that, because the moment it hit the kitchen floor, shards of glass—both big, small, and tiny—were all over the floor.
The first thing I did was make sure our girls were okay and told them to not come close to the kitchen. Shards of glass were everywhere, even by our dining table. We got it cleaned up and everything was okay (except for the bowl).
This situation made me think about the insidious nature of sin; it caused me to reflect on the “small” sins in our life. We take great lengths to ensure we don’t step on shards of glass—even if they are basically invisible to our eyes unless we get really close. Do we take the same attitude with our sin? Are we hyper vigilant when it comes to the so-called small sins in our lives?
I think that’s a mistake we make everyday. We aren’t intentional about the little things in our lives; we aren’t aware of the tiny issues in our hearts that lead to sin. But the big problem, of course, is there are no small sins. There are no small sins because of who we sin against. All sin—no matter the severity—is utter rebellion against God, the holy one, the Creator of the cosmos. Thomas Terry (Odd Thomas from Beautiful Eulogy) said, “The smallest white lie is enough to be indictable.”
Sin is sin no matter how small from a human perspective. All sin deserves wrath, but that’s why Jesus went to the cross. He died on the cross for the lustful heart and the adulterer; he died on the cross for the homosexual and for the heterosexual who is sexually promiscuous; he died on the cross for the drug addict, the self-righteous, the transgender, the porn addict. Yes, he died for every sin a person commits.
That’s why we must be vigilant about the “small” issues in our hearts. “. . . sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). Sin is always approaching; it never ceases to run rampant. We must always guard our hearts against sin, even the things that feel miniscule, even the things that feel lighthearted or not so serious.
This isn’t a call to never joke or laugh or have fun in life, for example. God wants you to do those things. But it is a call to be aware of your heart, to understand what crosses a line or what might cross a line and to not come close. As John Piper preached once, the question is not “Is it sin?” but rather “Does it help me run?”
This is also why Martin Luther wrote that we need to repent daily. Each night as you lay your head down on the pillow, you should repent to the Lord. Not to be saved, of course, but because you know—we all know—that there are things we did that day that we are unaware of. There are “little” sins here and there that happen and we don’t even know. But there are also things we know we do that, upon further reflection, we see them as sin and ought to repent.
In short, we must beware of the little pieces of sin in our lives. We must be careful not to step on them, to cut our feet. And we need the Holy Spirit’s help in identifying them. So pray. Pray for guidance, discernment, and a more sensitiveness to your own sin.
This is so true Blake, we all should!