No Such Thing as “Little Sins.”

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There are no such things as little sins. Every minuscule action or inaction, every microscopic thought, feeling, or the lack thereof that is tainted with even the slightest trace of sin, is eternally damaging to our relationship with God. And yet, we live in a world constantly seeking to minimize what the Bible calls sin. I do it. You do it. We all do it. We all want to reduce the gravity of our sin to the point where it no longer stings the soul.

We take things that are offensive to God and then reframe them in language that is more palatable to our egos and consciences.

For instance, how many politicians or celebrities have you heard make the claim "I made a mistake" when it is discovered that they are cheating on their spouse? They do not call it sin or adultery; they reduce it to the level of accidental carelessness. The same word I would use to describe spilling a glass of milk or tripping on a street corner – a mistake – is the word used for intentionally planning a prolonged illicit relationship of sexual and emotional infidelity. These two actions are not the same!

This is why infidelity is cast as "my needs aren't getting met" because the perpetrator wants to become the victim. Divorce has now been recategorized as "falling out of love," "drifting apart," or "we just weren't a good fit" to avoid a sin that God hates. Digitally depicted sex acts, incest, rape, and grotesque forms of violence are all rebranded under the guise of entertainment and joyfully consumed without question. Homosexuality and pedophilia are called "love," rebranded as normative expressions of affection and sexual behavior instead of the rank perversions they are. Abortion, which is the intentional slaughtering of innocent humans, is more politely called "rights" and "healthcare."

Yet, we not only play these games with big sins but also do that slimy dance with the sins we consider to be smaller ones. For example, many treat lying as no longer "wrong" in an absolute sense but sometimes can be situationally advantageous. Gluttony can be called words like "comfort," "foodie," or "boredom." Even sins of omission, where we do not do what God commanded, can be seen as "not my gifting" or "Not qualified," which does not Biblically work. See Matthew 28:18-20 for an explicit command that is woefully ignored today.

I am convinced that this behavior is a universal human condition. Christian or not, believer or skeptic, we all long to maximize our ego and minimize our culpability before God.

How can I say this? Because I want to minimize my sins right along with you. I cannot speak for everyone, but I know intimately how the human condition works because I am very much human. I detest that I am a guilty sinner and would gladly scuttle past that point without a moment's reflection if I could. To do that, I either have to deal with how sinful I am and be brutally honest about it, or I will do what we all do and minimize, trivialize, and placate our sins.

And maybe you will ask, why do we do this? I think it is evident in Scripture that when we chose rebellion against God, something intrinsic to our souls was broken so that all we now do and everything we crave has been tainted by the disease of sin. Instead of honesty, we weave clever ruses to picture ourselves as the good guy. We do not want to face the music that we have failed and are deeply flawed in ways we cannot fix. We do not want to admit that we would fail a million times if we were given a million chances with God. We avoid the obvious truth, so we can keep our sin outside of us instead of dealing with the reality that it is going on within that is affecting, effecting, and infecting us all.

Like a viper that is killed by the very young she nourished, so is our relationship with God damaged by the little sins we allow to fester down inside of us like little baby cobras. Ignoring them doesn't actually help the situation or make them go away. They still grow. Convincing ourselves we are all ok. This is not getting at the problem. In fact, it is only making it worse.

The longer we attempt to justify ourselves or make ourselves feel better, the deeper we will disappoint ourselves.

Imagine the fatalism of Sisyphus, a character in Greek Mythology, who was condemned to roll a massive boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down again for all eternity. All of us are doing this when we are minimizing our sins. We get stuck in a pointless cycle of futility that will never bring our souls the rest and relief we are looking for. The more we try to minimize our sin, the more our inabilities are put on full display and the more hopeless we will feel. The simplest solution, however, is to simply admit that we are not good, that we are, in fact, miserably evil, which ironically is where true hope begins.

When we understand the desperation and futility of our plight, we will stop looking to ourselves for help. When we no longer hope to find any goodness within ourselves, we can finally accept that ALL goodness comes from something (or, better yet, someone outside of us), which is God. When we deny our ability and ingenuity to bring healing, we will instead look to the Scriptures and Christ, which is where our real and actual help comes from.

Below are a few things to consider as you take up the sword to fight the temptations Satan wants you to minimize.

THERE ARE NO MINOR SINS

First, we must understand that there is no such thing as minor sins. Every single sin, regardless of degree or magnitude, was enough to entirely damn the soul of man. It was a single sin committed by Adam and Eve that unleashed that terrifying plague upon the soul of man and created the conditions for which Christ committed Himself to come and die (Gen. 3:15). Knowing this, we must not view any sin with triviality and must remember to be vigilant in killing them.

MINIMIZING SIN MAXIMIZES SIN

Second, when we view some sins as more petite or less significant than others, it won't be long before we minimize other sins as well. That is the way the sinful nature works. It is always attempting to take more and more ground. If Satan can convince you that lusting after a woman in public is not that big of a deal, soon he will have you lingering on pornographic websites in private. If he can get you to bend the truth in an unimportant area, it won't be long before you cast lies in consequential areas. As Thomas Brooks once said: "He (Satan) will cause you to sit with the drunkard first before you have become one." Seeing this, we must recognize that sin is not modest. It has a cruel and insatiable appetite that can never be filled. If you give into it at all, it will never stop craving more. Because of that, it is better to kill it while it is still a hatchling than when it becomes a fully grown dragon.

MINIMIZING SIN HAS MAXIMAL CONSEQUENCES

Third, we must remember that, in some ways, little sins bring more devastating consequences and culpability than the biggest ones. For instance, if a man misses his ten-year anniversary dinner due to an urgent and time-sensitive matter at work, his wife might be more inclined toward understanding than if he missed it because he was playing video games. In the former, he was choosing an important event at work over his wife, which is a hard enough pill for her to swallow. But in the latter, he was selecting a trivial game over a precious wife, which communicates the flippancy of his affections. In much the same way, overlooking a perfect and glorious savior for the thrill of insignificant sins expresses a shallowness and frivolity of our affections that must be ardently, seriously, and forcefully repented.

MINIMAL SINS ARE MORE EVIL THAN MAXIMAL STRUGGLES

Fourth, we must also remember that there is infinitely more evil in the slightest and sweetest tasting sin than in the most extraordinary and bitterest strugglings. We may suffer for years under pain of unmet desires. We may quake in the depths of our souls as we wrestle against the enemy without relief; we may shake with tremors unimaginable in the mind and flesh, but so long as we are struggling, the Lord is pleased with our travail.

Finally, we must remember that we are worshiping as we resist the toxic pleasures Satan offers. We must not give in too easily to end the struggle or pain. The Bible promises that if we keep on struggling, Satan will eventually flee. Perhaps we have no experience of his fleeing because we are so prone to escaping pain, avoiding embarrassment, and ending our struggles far too early. Remember, it is evil to give in to sin. But there is sanctification and God-honoring worship when we fight.

CONCLUSION

Sins must not be minimized or trivialized. Sin caused our world to fall into the depths of depravity and violence. Sin caused our precious and spotless savior to undergo the wrath of God. And sin, while promising pleasure, becomes the bane of intimacy between us and God. Knowing this, let us be vigilant in fighting, making war, and mortifying our flesh so that we can experience more joy, more intimacy, and more pleasure in knowing God.

"What fools are they who, for a drop of pleasure, drink a sea of wrath." - Thomas Watson