Little-Known Sin

[janbear]

Little-Known Sin

The One who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God. - PSALM 7:9

Focusing only on correcting obvious sin (sins of behavior) without understanding what it means to deal with the issues of the heart will bring about a condition akin to that of the Pharisees - more smug than spiritual.

One of the things I have noticed about myself is that whenever I feel I am not pursuing God in the way I should, I tend to focus on the surface issues of my life - my above-the-waterline problems - and work at them all I can. But sin involves far more than what goes on above the surface; there is also something going on in the deep recesses of my heart.

As there is little need for me to discuss the sins that are obvious, I want to focus now on those that are not. I imagine that those of you who have been Christians for some time will expect me at this stage to identify the hidden sins of the heart under such categories as resentment, lukewarmness, impatience, jealousy, and so on.

My concern, however, is with a category of sin that is not easily recognized and not very well-known. This sin is probably more deeply buried in our hearts than any other, and it acts, in my opinion, as a trigger to them.

The sin I refer to is - demandingness. You won't find the word in the Bible, but you will certainly see it illustrated there. Demandingness is insisting that our interests be served irrespective of others.

Clearly, if Christ is to live in us, then this has to die in us.

Daily Prayer

Father, I see that again You are about to face me with a strong and serious challenge. Forgive me if I draw back when Your lance plunges deep. I have lived with demandingness for so long that I might not even be able to recognize it. Help me, Lord. Amen.

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