While the waters on sin may seem muddy, we still must call sin, sin. The difference is that we must first be open to hear that our words, thoughts or actions might be sinful though fully acceptable for someone else. Most of the time when someone suggests that I might have sinned, I become defensive. A healthy response might be to develop a heart that is willing to sit with God on what someone has risked confronting us on. This is NOT taking time to seek out a justification. Instead, it is an honest examination of the heart. What was my motive? Was fear or selfishness somehow involved in whatever I was doing? Why did this person suspect that my choice might be sinful? These sorts of questions need to be answered.
Take time to consider who you are spending time with. Are these people who want the best for you? Do they allow you to commit “minor” sins and say nothing? Any small infraction when compared against a pure and holy God will stick out like a log coming out of our eye. We might call it a white lie to protect someone’s feelings. But God calls it a lie. We might call it appreciating the beauty of the opposite sex but God just might be calling it adultery. My friends might tell bawdy jokes and I laugh but do not tell the same jokes and think I am good. God might be calling us to talk with our friends about purity. Sin is based on disobedience.
God calls us to talk to that unpopular person and we refuse, that is sin. God directs us to go to a particular place and we go the opposite direction (think Jonah), that is sin. My friends I am not being legalistic to say that we must train our hearts to hear from God and then obey immediately.
Speak the truth in love to each other. Consider where you are on this spectrum. Many love to speak truth with great cruelty and arrogance. They might be correct, but their words are harsh, condemning and failing to help a person to be restored to the King. Others choose to ignore sin and call it love. We must choose to speak truth but do it with love.
Before Christ came into my life, lies were a consistent part of my life. After Christ transformed my thinking, I determined that truth will be my way of life. In doing this I was often cruel and mean. Once I was being introduced to some folks who knew my aunt. Now this aunt was in truth the daughter of my grandmother but not of my grandfather, so I corrected them and said she was my ½ aunt. While technically that was true, she had never for a moment lived anything less than a full relative. My statement when it got back to her was deeply hurtful. My spoken truth was sin. I had to repent of my cruelty and learn to season my words.
