The Smallest of Sins
What are some of the small sins you deal with in your life? Before you abandon reading the rest of this post, let’s be honest. We all have them. Maybe it’s the “white lies” you share with a friend. Maybe it’s that one television show you watch that you know is keeping you from pursuing a life of holiness and obedience. Maybe it’s your short fuse that goes off to your children or husband speaking words of criticism.
Whatever that sin is – and we’re not going to share them publicly here – we all have them. The beauty of God’s Grace is that He forgives us for all sins. To Him the only difference in sin are the consequences. We often rationalize that we haven’t murdered anyone or had an affair so these “little” sins aren’t that bad. But are they?
In Song of Solomon 2:15, it says, “Catch the foxes for us—the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.” So what does this verse in the middle of a poem between a young maiden and a man she loves have to do with my sins? Solomon is using the picture of little foxes as the “little” sins that permeate our lives. Foxes are small, crafty creatures. They often would make their way into the vineyard to grasp the freshest and youngest grapes growing on the vine. As they would come and decimate the vines the harvest would disappear. Even these tiny animals could be as destructive as large animals who could easily trample the vineyard.
Just like these sneaky foxes do, our “little” sins can destroy our lives like they destroy the vineyard. One “white lie” turns into a bigger lie and leads you into a pattern of continual deception. The media we intake seems harmless but it begins to shape our thoughts and worldview and we begin to live more like the world than more like Jesus. Your constant criticism of your husband or children becomes a daily occurrence and begins to shape your perspective. That turns you into a negative source that your children begin to emulate and your husband becomes distant. All these things start out as “little” sins.
Right now, I’m awaiting an outpatient procedure to help close up a pinhole size opening on my right knee. Over the past year and a half I’ve dealt with major surgeries, illness, and tests that God has gotten me through. It appears I’m on the precipice of being able to begin to rehab back to life. But this pinhole. Literally so small you can barely see it, but it’s an opening that fluid is escaping from and if not addressed could become worse, or even cause infection. Yet, until it heals, I can’t move forward with rehab.
One little pinhole. One little sin. Both hold me back. Both keep me from moving forward, whether physically or spiritually. Such a small thing becomes big when it impedes our progress. When I’m struggling with a “little” sin, it distracts me from following God with full surrender. Even if the consequences of that sin seem small, that smallest of sins can grow in my life to immense proportions.
May our guard ever be up to “catch those little foxes” in our own vineyard before they destroy our lives.
–Rose Booth
