"Not as Bad…"

Have you ever used that term to describe your sin? Maybe you had just recognized your sin and were trying to minimize it or maybe someone else called you out in your sin and you were trying to explain it. Either way, we've likely all used this phrase either verbally or mentally in an attempt to lessen the badness of our sin.

"Yes I yelled at my co-workers in anger, but it's not as bad as if I had physically attacked them."

"Looking at wrong things on the internet is not as bad as actually committing adultery."

"Neglecting my marital duties as a husband/wife is not as bad as angering or abusing my partner."

Maybe you're even thinking it right now, "using the 'not as bad' phrase is not as bad as ignoring my sin completely."

But the Bible sheds different light on this. In the verse quoted above, sinning causes us to fall short of the glory of God. All sin causes us to fall short of the glory of God. Any sin, every sin causes us to fall short of the glory of God. This is not to debate whether some sins may or may not be "worse" than others, but instead to say that it doesn't really matter in light of their punishments.

You and I deserve the same eternal punishment as the worst criminals of society. Based on what each of us has done, a little sin or a lot of sin, we have each fallen short of the glory of God.

I say this so we may be humbled, not condemned. See, Jesus didn't come to condemn us but to save us. Unless we realize how desperately we need a savior, we can't fully love Jesus. Once we do come to love Jesus, we need to hate our sin and absolutely despise its filth.

*Father God, forgive us for trying to minimize our sin. God, we have fallen short of your glory in all we have said and done. Please forgive us. We need you Jesus. We are no better off than those who commit sins we think are worse than ours. Please teach us how to hate our sin and despise it like you do. We want to grow in the likes and dislikes of Jesus. It's in His name we pray, amen!

posted by Will Ravelob at the PHIAA e-group