The weightiest Sins of All

I’ve had this “sermon” burning inside of me for a few days now (not sure what else to call it). My Bible reading plan has me currently in the book of Deuteronomy and Moses is re-capping all of the things that happened (I tend to believe he’s stalling since God has told him he’s going to die after his speech). Anyway, he’s just re-capped the 10 Commandments and I got hit square between the eyes.

Before I go any further, let me give you a bit of my background. I grew up as a pretty severe perfectionist, which had me about as much of a legalist/Pharisee as one can be in modern times. My view of God was of someone who was simply waiting for me to mess up so He could punish me. While this was advantageous in that it kept me out of trouble, it is disadvantageous when it comes to judging others. This is only amplified by the fact that I grew up in a small conservative town in the Bible belt.  It was my freshman year in college, when one of my Psych professors opted to start class with a devotional, reading an excerpt from Max Lucado’s “In the Grip of Grace” that I finally started to get the true Gospel message that I’d been missing all of my life (of course, that professor got reamed for teaching Baptist theology at a Nazarene college, but I’ve no doubt if he knew the impact it had on me, he would find it worth it). Anyway, moving on to present day – while I still struggle with judging and striving to be perfect, I find myself currently a member of a church where the pastor is a Millennial and is from the Pacific Northwest. This means that he has some more liberal thinking than what I’ve grown up with and it’s stretching me. And it’s this stretching that has brought me to this “sermon”.

I’ve noticed that often-times, we as Christians will apply a weight to certain sins. For example, murder and adultery are worse sins than lying, etc. And while we all KNOW that all sin is equal in God’s sight, we still place a judgmental weight to each sin. And to be fair, there are sins that cause more damage than others, and that may be part of why we assign weight to it. However, I’ve noticed in my conservative Midwest life, that I (and those around me) have assigned a great deal of weight to things that aren’t nearly as weighty in the grand scheme of things. For example, (and I’m preparing to hear you gasp out loud when you read this), if a homosexual couple were to walk into your church, how would they be received? If someone came in with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, how would they be received? If someone came in dropping the “F-bomb” every 30 seconds, how would they be received? And here’s where my reading in Deuteronomy comes in. As I’m reading through the 10 commandments, I notice that NONE of these sins are listed amongst the “thou shalt nots”. Don’t get me wrong – I know the Bible addresses these and that’s not my point. The point is that the things that we as Christians get all up in arms over, aren’t even in the “big 10” – the list that God repeats in scripture as the law. The 10 words that are inscribed on the stone tablets that are in the Ark of the Covenant. The sins that cause us the most alarm don’t even make that list.

But you know what does make that list?

1.       You should have no other Gods before Yahweh. That includes not only other “gods”, but also money, your stuff, your habits, your relationships…. Nothing. Pretty sure we’ve all been guilty of this one – putting something (or someone) else first.

2.       You should not create any idols (graven images). While the literal-ness of this is not quite as valid these days, I believe that in modern times, we make idols of our status, of our time.

3.       You should not take God’s name in vain. The number of times I hear “Oh my God!” or “I swear to God” or even “Jesus Christ!” when not calling on his name astounds me. I think we also take his name in vain when we proclaim to be his followers and we lead others astray.

4.       Honor the Sabbath Day and make it holy. Honestly, how many of us actually take a Sabbath? But God insists that if even HE needed to rest after the work of creation, then we really should too.

5.       Honor your Father and Mother. I’m just gonna leave that right here.

6.       Do not murder. I’m pretty sure most of us could check this one off; until we get to the New Testament where Jesus tells us that hatred and anger are the same thing. I’m pretty sure I’ve threatened to throttle someone at least once every day this week.

7.       Do not commit Adultery. Again, thinking most of us can check this off – until we get to Jesus – who says if we look lustfully at someone else, we’ve committed adultery in our hearts. How many who sit in the pews next to us are hooked on pornography? Or wish their husband was more like the hero in the latest romance novel?

8.       Do not steal. Probably also can check this off….. unless you discover after you get home that you have 3 cartons of ice cream, but you only paid for 2 and you don’t do anything about it. Or if you take office supplies from the office home…. Guilty!

9.       Do not bear false witness. Hands up if you’ve ever told a lie? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

10.   Do not covet. How many of us want what we don’t have – a bigger house, better car, nicer clothes. We see what others have and we covet.

So, yeah. Pretty sure we’re all a bunch of sinners in need of grace. That said, getting back to my point – as we sit together in church on Sunday - The liar next to the porn addict next to the person who puts their money or their comfort before their God, next to the person who wanted to kill their co-worker this week – be mindful that if a homosexual drunk who curses like a sailor comes into your midst, that before you can point out the speck in their eye, you need to remove the plank from your own.