When I was a little boy I used to try to figure out which sin was the worst. Surely it seemed that killing someone was worst than stealing something and stealing something was worse then telling a lie. In my little boy mind I had developed quite an interesting hierarchy of sins. But then I grew up and decided that since all sins led to eternal death and the crucifixion of Jesus there was no hierarchy. I figured they were all the same. But I have changed again. Once again I have a hierarchy. I have come to believe the sins of the heart are the worst kind. Killing, stealing, lying, etc. are merely the fruit of something far worst. The really bad sin is the one that gives us the liberty to judge others.
I saw a woman holding a sign with a demeaning label and vindictively she spewed her hatred into the news camera telling the world how good it felt to know God was on her side and that God hated the new Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire. I saw the worst kind of sin. I saw the conceit and viciousness that causes someone to think if we do not think like they do we are inferior and not God’s children. I saw hatred masquerading as righteousness. I saw someone saying, “God is on our side and not your side.” I saw the worst sin.
No wonder Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “If you hate someone you are guilty of murder.” Because the person you have murdered is yourself! Matthew 5.
Written by Roger Bothwell on November 4, 2003
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