Little Sins or Big Sins?

Recently, on my peaceful 238 square mile island, a beautiful 17yr old girl was brutally murdered. She was in the prime of her life, just having received the results of her CXC examinations, the most important thing in the life of an island teen. Life had just begun for her, and just like that, it was cut off.

Several people on the island would like to see the perpetrator hang and many would do it themselves if given the chance. I'm so mad at him, I would probably join the angry mob too. However, lately, I've done some thinking. Murder is definitely a horrible crime and the person who murdered this young girl must definitely come to justice, but what about the rest of us? As Christians, we know that all sin is equal in the eyes of God. Murder may seem bigger, but at the end of the day, the liar will receive the same level of punishment.

All sin makes us sinners, and all sin cuts us off from our holy God. No matter how "big" our sin, we cannot commune with God unless we have been cleansed. So what does that mean for those of us who are not murderers? It means that we are just as guilty. Our sins are not lesser and if we do not repent of them, we will NOT receive eternal life.

We could spend the rest of our lives going to church, but if we don't get rid of the little things that keep popping up in our lives, like the lies, the gossip, the petty stealing (of your bosses time and copy paper), we'll end up in the same place as the horrific murderer. A bit sobering isn't it. The bible reminds us that if we hate our brother we are basically the same as a murderer.

ALL sin leads to death because it disqualifies us from living with God, regardless of how great or small it seems. Don't minimize "little" sins or overrate "big" sins. Your "little white lie" is the same as the act of a rapist or a murderer in God's eyes. All sin separates us from God, but they can ALL be forgiven.

So today, even as I mourn for the tragedy that has befallen this young lady, I'm sobered by the fact that for hating the murderer, I'm no better than him. For stealing the copy paper in the office, I'm no better than him. For lying my way out of an unwanted date, I'm no better than him. We all need redemption, no matter how little the sin appears in our eyes.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Romans 3:23 (NLT)