Tag: Sin of self

Don’t you often find that it’s the small things that eventually trip you up? I speak from experience this week because I’m typing this blog with a black eye and a bruised face. I was playing soccer with my grandson, late at night, on the concrete driveway, wearing flip-flops. When he zagged, I zigged. The result was a pretty decent fall. I’m not that good at being a “senior” adult. I still want to do the things I did before, but sometimes that just isn’t a good idea. I’m older and slower, and my grandson is younger and faster. 

The whole accident gave me some food for thought – in addition to a black eye and bruised face. 

If I had taken just a moment to think, I would have done a few things differently. Hence, the point of this blog post. The English language has a lot of words that contain an “i” in the middle. Spiritually, it is a big help if we focus on keeping the “i” in the middle a lower-case letter. For example:

Think, but don’t thInk

If I had been thinking about something other than the idea that “I” wanted to play soccer, I might have realized a late-night game of soccer, on a concrete driveway, with a VERY fast, energetic grandson, who was wearing tennis shoes compared to my worn-out flipflops – well, you get the picture. That serves as an analogy for a more important spiritual principle.

I would look and feel a lot better today if I had chosen to think instead of thInk. I put my wants ahead of what I know to be true. I know I’m older, slower, and tired at the end of a long day. The facts are the facts. I ignored the truth and took a fall. That’s usually what causes us to fall spiritually as well. 

I love Isaiah 55:8, which says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” A lot of mistakes are made in this life when we “thInk” about ourselves first. We capitalize the letter in the middle, and things go wrong. If we go through life valuing our thoughts more than God’s, we are going to trip and fall. Our thoughts are not God’s, and it’s important to thInk about the consequences of thinking “more highly of ourselves than we ought” (Romans 12:3).

Faith instead of faIth

Romans 1:17 tells us, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Those words follow the important statement that the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). We cannot live by faith and enjoy a righteous relationship with God if we put a capital “I” in the middle of the word faith. 

The power of our witness is the gospel message, not ourselves. It’s important to share our testimony, but our words should reflect what God has done rather than ourselves or our own works. It’s good to ask ourselves if people see our “faIth” or our faith in God. Is our primary focus sharing our story or the gospel, the good news of Christ?

Come to think of it, we should be careful to share our “testimony” instead of a “testImony.” That little “i” really makes a difference!

Most sin is sIn

I recently taught Acts 6, which talks about the need for lay leadership in the early church. It was likely only about a year after the ascension when the events of chapter 6 occurred. The apostles were busy preaching and sharing the gospel with people. Scripture refers to their work as “the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). In the early church, a problem arose between two groups of women. The Hellenistic Jews felt like the Hebraic Jews were getting better treatment when it came to the passing out of food. 

That story from Acts is simply another example in Scripture about the perpetual, strongest motivation for sin. My husband often refers to it as “I” trouble. Eve put herself first and “sIn” entered the world. The sin of self can be found at the center of almost every sin that has been committed since the Garden.

Proverbs 26:12 says, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” The early church chose faithful leaders who helped the women receive food more fairly. The question was not about “who deserved the food most.” The right solution was to ask, “Who deserved the food?” So many of our own sins occur when we value ourselves more than someone else.

If we counted our sins today, how many would be “sIns?” 

There is no “I” in King

We know Jesus is our King, but too many times we spell the word “KIng.” We know we are second to God, but we like to think we are not small. Consider this relationship with Jesus as your KiNG.

• K: King of kings and Lord of lords.
• i:   Realize self will always be small in comparison to his greatness.
• N: Nothing, NOTHING can separate you from his love.
• G: God is good, all the time.

If Jesus is your KiNG, you WIN

I’ve shared this CeCe Winans song with you before, but it is worth hearing often. When Jesus is KiNG of our lives, we can know that one day we will WIN all the joy and reward our Lord has provided us in heaven. On that day, we will be made holy, righteous, and free from every sIn. 

Enjoy the song and enjoy knowing that the sins of self will one day be conquered by our Savior King. Until then, it’s our job to focus on keeping the “I” out of our thoughts, our faith, and our sinful temptations. The best way to accomplish that is to once again make Jesus your KiNG today.