Little Sins

Some time ago, during the sermon, my father was talking about how you should pray before you start reading your Bible during devotions. He mentioned that you should ask the Lord to show you the sins that you've committed. And he began naming them: impatience, a bad thought... It struck me because I've never considered those things sins. Of course, I knew they weren't right--we're told to have patience and love and temperance and all those other fruits of the Spirit. But I never realized those were sins. It made me realize how many "little" sins I commit every day.

A sharp word to a sibling.

Impatience.

Gossip.

Arguing with my sister.

Being unwilling to serve.

Grumpiness.

Thinking bitterly.

Those little, everyday sins. That actually are sins--and that need to be rooted out just as much as a "bigger" sin does. The ones we need to see and ask forgiveness for and combat in the Lord's strength.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. That means that hatred/dislike, argument, impatience, unkindness, fear, wickedness, harshness, and intemperance are sins. How many of these sins do we exhibit in one day? And never even notice or really feel guilty about?

My lovely friend KeiAnna wrote this once:

One thing that has struck me in some measure the last few months is the holiness of God. I know I often tend to focus on His mercy and love, and those are indisputable attributes of His, but it is essential we don’t disregard His holiness.Though I know it’s undeniably wrong to disobey God outrightly, I sometimes find myself doing “little” sins and disregarding them. Maybe God wants me to serve Him in a certain capacity, witness to a particular person, but inwardly I think, “I can do it in my timing, in a way that is comfortable to me.” Perhaps you coincide with those thoughts, but friends, we ought to be ashamed! God is loving, but He is a perfect dichotomy of holiness and love! We have no right to just serve Him in whatever way is most comfortable to us, to worship Him in our terms, to slight another person and excuse it, to do “little” sins, because we know God will forgive us...”shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!” The example of Cain ought to be a lesson to us. He offers the fruits of his soil, and it seems understandable; he was a farmer, and it was what he was comfortable with. Cain decided to ignore God’s commands and sacrifice in his own terms- but just as God did not accept Cain’s sacrifice, He will not accept our version of serving Him. A living sacrifice has no will of its own; it has laid all desires aside and is fully submissive to the will of the sacrificer. I know these truths are hard, but I urge you to not be discouraged! Sometimes, though I know God is perfect, I find myself viewing God’s holiness as a dreadful thing, but it is not! It is a wonderful, wonderful, thing! Think of this: It is by His holiness He can be called Love; His chastening and commands are brought forth not only by justice, but by love that desires the best for us.Holiness is an essential attribute of Love; it is a name of God Himself! How then could it be a dreadful thing?As we continue in our day to day life, may we keep His holiness in our view, that we may live a life truly pleasing to our worthy Master.

© KeiAnna Aubrey

That really struck me, because it is so true. I often don't realize the little sins I do. Disobeying the Spirit. Little, little things, but still sins.

Do we want to keep ignoring the little sins?

“Search me, O God, and know my heart:

try me, and know my thoughts:

And see if there be any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.”

~Psalm 139:23-24~