Harmless Petty Sins

A familiar fable tells of the hunter who lost his life to the leopard he himself had saved as a pet for his children when the leopard was just a cub. The moral of the story can be deduced easily from the title, Little Leopards Become Big Leopards; or else, sin is easier to deal with before it becomes a habitual practice that eventually defines our lives.(1) Though the story as it stands is a beautiful illustration of a profound truth, there is a deeper lesson regarding the nature of sin that is easily concealed by this line of thinking and which, I believe, lies at the very essence of the Christian call to Christ-likeness. The problem is that the parallel between little harmless leopard cubs and little harmless sins can be dangerously deceptive.

Whereas leopard cubs are indeed harmless, there is no stage of development at which sin can be said to be harmless, for individual acts of sin are merely the symptoms of the true condition of our hearts. It is not accidental that the call to Christian growth in the Scriptures repeatedly zeros-in on such seemingly benign “human shortcomings” as bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, and malicious behavior (Ephesians 4:31). In his watershed address, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus placed a great deal of emphasis on lust, anger, and contempt—behaviors and attitudes that would probably not rank high on our lists of problems in need of urgent resolution. Armed with firm and sometimes unconscious categories of serious versus tolerable sins, we gloss over lists of vices in the Scriptures because they seem to be of little consequence to life as we experience it.

 But when we fail to grasp the subtleties of sin, we run the risk of rendering much of biblical wisdom irrelevant to our daily life and practice. While we appreciate the uniqueness and necessity of the sacrificial death of Jesus on our behalf, his specific teachings can at times appear to be farfetched and the emphasis misplaced. Does it not seem incredible that the God who made this world would visit it in its brokenness, dwell among us for over thirty years, and then leave behind the command that we must be nice to each other? Can the problems of the world really be solved by having people “turn the other cheek” and “get rid of anger and malice”?

 Unfortunately, those “little” sins are not only the mere symptoms of a much bigger problem; they are also effective means of alienating us from God and other human beings.  How many careers have been ruined only because of jealousy? How many people have been deprived of genuine help as a result of the seemingly side-comment of someone who secretly despised them? How many relationships have been destroyed by bitterness? How many churches have split up because of selfish ambitions couched in pietistic terms? How much evil has resulted from misinformation, a little coloring around the edges of truth? And have you noticed how much we can control other people just through our body language? From the political arena to the basic family unit, the worst enemy of human harmony is not spectacular wickedness but those seemingly harmless petty sins routinely assumed to be part of what it means to be human.

According to a NASA scientist, a two-degree miscalculation when launching a spacecraft to the moon would send the spacecraft 11,121 miles away from the moon: all one has to do is take time and distance into account.(2) How perceptive then was George MacDonald when he uttered these chilling words, “A man may sink by such slow degrees that, long after he is a devil, he may go on being a good churchman or a good dissenter, and thinking himself a good Christian”!(3) Similarly, C.S. Lewis warned that cards are a welcome substitute for murder if the former will set the believer on a path away from God. “Indeed,” he wrote, “the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”(4)

 Now the decisive path out of this quandary is not just a greater resolve to be obedient to God. Such a response is usually motivated by guilt, and the duration of our effort will be directly proportional to the amount of guilt we feel: we will be right back where we started from when the guilt is no longer as strong. The appropriate response must begin with a greater appreciation of the holiness of God and a clear vision of life in God. It is only along the path of Christ-likeness that the true nature of sin is revealed and its appeal blunted. Yes, brazen sinfulness is appallingly evil and destructive, but it only makes a louder growl in a forest populated by stealthier, deadly hunters masquerading as little leopards. It is no idle, perfunctory pastime to pray with King David:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
And lead me along the path of everlasting life (Psalm 139:23-24).


Thanks to J.M. Njoroge for this wonderful article. Njoroge is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

My thoughts in the season of Lent

We successfully completed meditating on the chapters in 1st and 2nd Chronicles in our church.

We started on Ash Wednesday, quite some time ago in the month of March and every day we gathered and met up in the evenings. Two hours of dedicated time for praise and worship, reading Bible, exposition and prayer. These two hours were the best hours of the day.

Initially there were only a few people who came, but as the days went by, many people joined the group. Last Saturday, the count was more than 80. No one forces any one to come/attend, it’s purely on their own convenience.

We started focusing on the books of 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles. On Ash Wednesday, we were introduced to the summary of these books, the author, the key themes and such information. 1^st Chronicles – chapter 28:9 is the key verse in that book, whereas 2 Chronicles 7:14 remains the key for the 2^nd book.

We meditated on these chapters every day. Many of our church members took turns to read the Word of God and come prepared so that we may be able to tell others. This exercise helped the person to speak well and to prepare well, as he/she has to teach to others.

Almost everyone from the church spoke, it was a wonderful feeling that each and every person called on the name of the Lord. After the message, people used to pray with earnestness and great desire.

In spite of busy schedules of people, many made it to the prayers in the evening.

Let me now try to focus on the two key themes in the two books – 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles.

1 Chronicles 28:9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

In this verse we read how David admonishes his son Solomon. He tell Solomon to Acknowledge the God of your father. How wonderful is to acknowledge God in our lives. There are a few important principles he is trying to tell us:

• Acknowledge the God of your father
• Serve him with whole hearted devotion
• Serve him with a willing mind
• The Lord searches every heart
• The Lord understand every desire and every thought
• We need to seek him and he will be found by us
• If we forsake him, He will reject us forever.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Even in the 2 Chronicles 7:14, we find that this is the key verse of the chapter. Let us divide:

• If my people
• Who are called by my name
• Humble themselves
• Pray and seek the face of the Lord
• Turn from their wicked ways
• I will hear from heaven
• I will forgive their sin
• I will heal their land

My experience with 1 Chronicles in the Bible

First Chronicles - Chapter 20

I never knew that Chronicles was so interesting until in our church we started meditating on these chapters every day. We belong to a church which follows Lenten season and we gather every day in the evening for an hour or two to sing and read the word of God. It all started on one Wednesday, also called Ash Wednesday. We gathered and we were told that we would be concentrating on reading from 1 and 2 Chronicles. We thought it would not be interesting at all, yes, reading stories in the Bible is good and reading other books such as Proverbs or New Testament writings is good, but what would Chronicles offer us.

We were all a little apprehensive in the initial stages, but as we went on reading, we found that the Lord God has a special plan for us and he wants us to read and understand his word, whether it be from Chronicles or any other book.

We took this seriously and started meditating chapter by chapter every day.

Surprisingly, every person in the congregation is very interested and they are reading in advance and coming prepared to the services. It is not that you can say something and everyone listens, they are all reading in advance and are coming prepared for a new revelation from the word. This is a bigger responsibility, now that you have to share from the Word of God, a dry subject and make it interesting and learn some practical applications.

I thank God for the church we attend, each and every person is doing the same. They are reading and when their time approaches to share the word, they are getting prepared thoroughly.

After saying all this, I would like to share some points from chapter 20. I was asked to share some points about this chapter and I did not have a clue as to what I should share from just 8 verses.

But as I read more from the word of God, I started realizing that there are many more hidden truths in the verses and I need to study more. I went to different commentaries, of which Henry’s commentary was very helpful to me. I quickly took to the text as a fish takes to water and started getting myself involved in the verses… very soon I found out that there is more under the hood than that which is stated in just the above 8 verses. Not to be heretical or skeptical, but I was cautious and asking the Lord to reveal the inner truths … I was reminded of the verse in the book of John that the Truth will set you free and that Jesus is the truth… how comforting this thought was… so in pursuit of truth I set out reading the 20^th chapter.

Let me now lay down my understanding of the concept in the given 8 verses.

1 And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.

In the first verse, it says ‘and it came to pass’… I stopped immediately at the very phrase. In the Bible I find in many places this phrase which says ‘and it came to pass’. Yes, how true it is. Everything will come to pass one day. Nothing is permanent and nothing is forever, we need to keep this in mind when we look at everything that belongs to this world. We need to be cautious as to how we approach the worldly things. We might get too attached to them and might forget the eternal truths… let us always remember that everything will come to pass and it is the word of God that stands forever. In spite of knowing such eternal truths, somehow, we do not want to acknowledge it and we do not want to accept it.

In the same verse, I read that it said, ‘…at the time that kings go to battle, but David tarried at Jerusalem.’ This is a really intriguing and interesting verse. At the time when kings go for battle, King David also should have been in the battle field. He should have led the army and have brought victory to Israel. He should have been a leader by showing through his example. Here, sadly, we find that he is at home and he is taking rest. It is not mentioned in this chapter, but we can find the sad story of David in II Samuel 11^th and 12^th chapters. Oh, how I wish that David is in the battle field. Oh, how I wish that we all like David be in the battle field and not on the terrace watching something that we should not watch.

There is a wide gap between the first verse and the second verse. The story, though not mentioned here, for other purposes, is still a warning to us that Idle mind is a devil’s workshop. In the Book of Matthew, 12^th chapter, it is mentioned that when a demon is gone out of a person/house, it goes out and finds no place to rest. It roams in all places and then comes to see the same place where it left. When it finds to be empty and unoccupied, it goes out and calls 7 more demons that are more dangerous than him and they enter into the person/house. The Bible says that the latter part will be worse than the beginning of that person. Oh, how true it is. We need to be careful as to how we keep our minds. If we keep it idle, definitely, we can be assured that demons will come and rule you.

That is the main reason, why we need to keep ourselves occupied with the word of God and prayer and fellowship. In fact, it is for our own good that the Lord has given us fellowship.

Let us know recapitulate what David did when he tarried at Jerusalem. He could have worshipped the Lord, he could have played and enjoyed with his family. He could have done so many things, but when he went on the terrace one day, he found a woman bathing. He could not turn away his eyes and the Bible says that he lusted after her. In his lust, he does all bad things. How strange it is that when is overcome by something, he/she forgets reasoning and logic. Here, we find David doing all the things are against the heart of the Lord. The person who was called ‘a man after God’s own heart’ was doing things that are against God’s heart. How pathetic the condition of man when he falls in sin and tries to cover it up.

David tried every way to cover his sin, in fact he goes to such an extent that he gets Uriah drunk and tries sending him to his house, but even in the drunken state, Uriah was making sense, and David, though not drunk physically, was in the wrong. Sin skews our perception. It makes us see gray areas and loopholes and then tries to blame others and do all the bad things.

David now things of murdering Uriah, so his mind starts scheming things which are not right for a person of such stature.

Lesson learnt:

1.       Do not be idle. Idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Inundate yourself with the word of God and be filled with the Holy Spirit, then you will not entertain evil thoughts.

My views on 2 Timothy 2nd chapter

2 Timothy 2nd chapter - few points... 1st point: Verse 1 "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." In the 2nd chapter, Paul instructs young Timothy to be strong in the grace of the Lord. He tells Timothy to be 'thick skinned', in the sense that every believer should not be bothered too much about what others will think when it comes to the Word of God. Every believer should be firm in his stand for the Lord and should never compromise on Godly standards. In this sense, Paul is telling Timothy to be strong. When young people take a stand for something, they are willing to do anything for that stand. For example, all the terrorists are young, the activists of any party are young people .. if we need to stand for the Lord, we need to take a firm stand and be strong. 2nd point: Verse 3 - 7: "Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this." Paul is asking to reflect on what all he is saying because the Lord will give insight into all this. He asks Timothy to be strong in the first verse, and the moment you take a stand, you will immediately face suffering and persecution. So, he tells Timothy to endure suffering like a soldier. What wonderful examples he gives - soldier, athlete and farmer. All three categories are hard working people - people who have a purpose - people who are never ashamed of what they are doing - people who never compromise on standards. We need to think more about these three categories of people and mediate why Paul compared with these three... 3rd point: Verse 9 "...God’s word is not chained..." What a beautiful verse 'God's word is not chained' - though the messenger is chained, the message is never chained. Paul is imprisoned and writing this letter from the dungeon. He knows for sure that this time he will not come out and he is about to die... but still he is encouraging Timothy and telling him about the importance of the Word of God. We need to be encouraged that God's word is established in Heavens and not a word of it will fail. This verse encourages us to read the Word more and more... 4th point - v13 "if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself." Here we see the character of God... though we are faithless, he remains faithful and he cannot disown himself. There is a tremendous truth in the statement. Once, Israelites murmured against the Lord and they worshiped the Golden Calf and they proclaimed it as their deliverer... the Lord became angry on the children of Israel... but he again controlled himself and brought them to the promised land... though they were unfaithful and murmuring all the time, God never forgot his promise to his children. How comforting this word is... 5th point - v 15 "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.' I like the words ' do your best to present yourself to God as one approved'. If we have an interview or any important meeting, how much time we spend to present ourselves in our best possible way. We tend to do all that we can do to be approved. How much more we need to prepare so that we can get approval from God. We also need to strive to be our best before the Lord - in secret and in public. 6th point: v 19 “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” This is also a good foundational verse for young people... it tells us that if we confess the name of the Lord, we need to turn away from wickedness... in Prov 8:13 it says that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil... if we want to be His children, we need to hate wickedness like anything.. not just dislike, but hate wickedness. 7th point: v 20 - 21 - various vessels Here Paul explains about different vessels in a house and how they are being used - some for glory and some for mundane activities... if we are clean and holy, God will use us for nice purposes, if we are unholy and unclean, we will be used for some normal purpose. Imagine, do we use the 'chetta dabba' where we normally throw all the dust to serve anything good? Do we keep unclean plates to guests? Do we ourselves take any unclean vessel to cook? The answer is no. Then how do we think that God can use unclean vessels for His glory... he who sees the heart of every man, knows whether we are clean or unclean.... so let us cleanse ourselves everyday... and be useful for him. 8th point: v 22" Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." This is a very clear and straight forward verse in the Bible. It says 'flee the evil desires of youth'. In another instance, it says 'resist the devil and he will flee from you' but here he is asking us to flee... point to be noted here is that no one can escape the youthful desires...it is a snare...we need to be on guard and run if we face any such temptation... I read in a book sometime ago, that we need to be prepared with the answers for every kind of temptation and we need to practice telling no... because in that moment, we cannot say no because our flesh and our carnal desires will pull towards the sin... better to be careful in this area. In the same verse he says that there are some with a pure heart... we need to join with them and be careful. The company we keep also determines how we react to things.... if we are in the company of people who sin a lot, sin then does not look big, it looks like fun and joy, but if we are in the company of holy people, even a small sin looks very dangerous... so we need to be careful here. 9th point: v 24 - And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Very good verses are found in this chapter of how every believer should be. We need to be kind to everyone and not at all quarrelsome. How nice the world would be if all the christians follow this verse. 10th point: v 16 "Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly" Very profound statement, those who indulge in godless chatter will become more and more ungodly. How true it is, everything starts with a few words... I think I have written a lot, but 2nd chapter contains many more wonderful and profound truths ...