It is in our human nature to sin. We are all sinners. No? You disagree? Well let’s find out.
The Ten Commandments are ten laws God gave to Moses. I think most of you have heard about it. Remember the Disney cartoon ‘Prince of Egypt’? The Ten Commandments was featured there.
I’ve listed the Ten Commandments below for your reference (I’ve included an explanation in brackets):
- You shall have no other gods before me. (That means God is number 1 in your life at all times, you can’t love someone or something else more than God)
- You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. (Idols include making a God to suit your desires, e.g. claiming that your God is good and kind and will not punish you for your sins or let you go to hell)
- You shall not misuse the name of God.
- Keep the Sabbath day holy. (The Sabbath day is one day in a week to rest and worship God)
- Honor your father and mother.
- You shall not murder. (Jesus said being angry at someone without cause is already considered murder)
- You shall not commit adultery. (Jesus also said looking at another person, either man or woman, with lust in your heart is considered committing adultery)
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. (Saying something that is untrue about someone else)
- You shall not covet. (Meaning you shall not desire for something that belongs to someone else, includes greed)
Well, you can say you don’t believe in the Ten Commandments. Even so, let’s see how you stand in the face of it.
- Have you ever told a lie? If you have, that makes you a liar!
- Have you ever stolen anything? Even an eraser counts k. If you have, that makes you a thief!
We could go on for all the Ten Commandments. So, can you tell me now you have never sinned? Honestly, I’m guilty of sinning against ALL of the Ten Commandments at some point in my life.
Now you know you have sinned, do you feel guilty for your sins? Do you feel sorry for your sins? For example, do you feel bad for taking something that didn’t belong to you? Well, most of us would because we have a conscience.
When you feel sorry for something you did, what do you do? Do you continue to do the same thing in the future? For example, would you steal again in the future? No! If you are truly sorry you won’t repeat the action. In fact, you will return the object to the owner and apologize and you will not steal again. In other words, you repent.
In another blog post, I talked about the immoral world we live in. Indeed, the many people around us continue to sin. That is because these people are not sorry for their sins. They think it is no big deal to sin. For example, they think it is not big deal to steal. ‘Everybody steals, even Christians I know steal, so why shouldn’t I?’ Let me point out that comparing your sins to another person’s sin does not eradicate your sin. You are still a sinner.
My friends, if you reacted to the above sentence with anger or became defensive, it shows that you are not sorry for your sins. It shows that you are too proud to admit your sins. It shows that you are self-righteous.
But someone who realizes that they have sinned and feel sorry for sinning is a humble person. He/she has a humble and contrite heart, one that pleases God (and pleases me too! =P).
Many of us have a pretty clear knowledge of our strengths. For example, we know we are kind, hard-working, have a good sense of humour etc… But do you have a clear idea of your weaknesses? For example, can you see that when you think you are better than someone else, you are actually being judgmental?
Examine your hearts. In the privacy of your room, ask yourself what kind of person are you? Look for your strengths AND weaknesses alike. Have a humble heart. Do not try to defend yourself. You don’t have to tell anyone your weaknesses so ask yourself truly what kind of person are you? Do not let your pride blind you to your sins. Be honest with yourself. And repent.
Wow…