By: Sherry Pryor
I had written this some time back and thought it was a good time to resurrect my thoughts on the topic of how many of us sometimes feel our sins have the weight equal to a ‘fib’ or a ‘lie’. An example could be fibbing to a loved one that they look good when perhaps a different choice of hair or outfit would be better for them. Or fibbing by eating some of the grapes at the store before they are weighed to be purchased. Do we believe that those types of scenarios are sins against God? This is how my thoughts wandered and then stopped on the question, ‘How do we weigh sins?’
Sitting in an airport some years back, I noticed all of the people with backpacks. Some were very colorful, others were designer, and then there were just the plain solid colors. Hidden from my eyes, I could only imagine the contents inside that were so important to the person that they were willing to carry them all around.
Then a thought sprang into my mind. What if our backpacks were see-through and visible to all? What if the contents of our backpacks were our sins? This thought alone gave me chills. Why? Because all my ‘fibs’ and all my ‘lies’ would be seen by all. If we knew we would have to carry this baggage fully visible to all, would we be compelled to live a cleaner life? Free of ‘fibs’ and ‘lies’? Or, would we sit back and look at each other’s backpacks and begin to justify or compare our sins to others? Afterwards, would we feel good about our exposed sins, versus others feeling shunned or ashamed every day they are amongst people?
I wondered how we would treat our friends if we knew all of their sins. Would we choose different friends? What about family members? Would we drop out of their lives? Would we feel safer knowing everyone’s sins? Perhaps the opportunity to receive and to give forgiveness would be more prevalent. Or, would we ostracize those with heavier backpacks thus creating a segregation between weights of sin? If the backpack weighs more, would this cause us to ‘want’ to forgive less?
As you can see, my mind was spinning that day with thinking about having all my flaws visible to all. Yes, I believe I would change and change quickly. I know this because on days I feel less fit, I add looser clothes. So based on my weight that day, my flaws are not seen. People’s words and actions influence others every day. Some are positive and others are not. It’s strange how quickly we modify our looks or behavior based on social media, a friend or family member’s words, or, worse, our own perception of ourselves, but how slow we are at modifying our behavior for God.
God sees all of our sins and has answered all of these questions for us:
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Hebrews 8:12 NIV
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV
Meditating on God’s Word brings comfort and peace knowing He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins. We no longer carry the weight of our sins alone. Our eyes and heart’s focus should be on God’s thoughts of us. If we were to be told we are to meet Him tomorrow, our current day’s words and actions would look so different. The change in us would be immediate.
I pray for each of us to look at what we can change about ourselves today to become the example of God’s sons and daughters while we are here on earth. For, if we truly ask for forgiveness and believe, God will take away our sins no matter the weight of our backpacks.
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