All in Sins

When we give, whether it be tithes, gifts, or to sustain another, the act of giving in love increases the worth of what we have given. On the other hand, when we receive a gift from someone, we shouldn’t revel in what it has done in our lives, but for the fruit it produces in the life of the giver. In this way, we might help someone in need, or benefit the church with our offering, but the real value comes in how it increases our own faith, and the spiritual warmth we realize from this simple act, because we are giving God’s bounty… not ours.

Perhaps today Someone will ask you if you have sinned, and you will tell them that you can’t recall having committed a sin today, but think again. Were you in the presence of those who were committing a sin and said nothing, or did you give the appearance of being complicit in a sin by not opposing it or removing yourself from it? If so that is to you a sin because to whom much is given much is expected, and even by your tolerance you teach others that their sin is acceptable. We “were like one of them.”

We often pray for forgiveness, and in one such prayer we ask God to forgive us from those things we have left undone. Have you ever prayed this way and wondered what those undone sins might be? Well the most powerful example of these is not witnessing in word or deed to a sinner, either unsaved, or who has wandered from the faith. Not witnessing when we are able places the blood of that soul upon us, but by obedience we save our own souls.