“Clare, aren’t all sins alike?” That was the question posed by a guy I was meeting with who was trying to justify a serious sin he had committed. I replied, “Nate, I don’t think even you believe that.”

All Christians rank sin – that is, we all have a mental list, or hierarchy of sins. On our list, some sins are moral felonies and others are misdemeanors. Is that true? Are some sins greater or more serious than others? Yes! (And, I’ll explain why later.)

A second question is even more intriguing, “How did you come up with your ‘list’?” Evangelicals generally have at the top of their list rejecting Christ or bad theology, while younger Christians have, not living like Christ or caring about social justice issues. Conservatives have near the top of their list, abortionists, gays and liberal theology. For liberal Christians, indifference to the poor, hypocrisy and intolerance top their lists. Rich Christians often think the poor’s big problem is laziness, while the poor believe the rich are greedy. I’ve actually caught myself looking down from my self-righteous perch at an adulterer or divorcee and glad I’m not one of them.

So, I have a theory; most of us unconsciously rank the sins we’re the least likely to commit at the top of our list, and our own sins in the middle or below. Let’s talk about why we do that.
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My good friend and partner in ministry, Dr. Preston Sprinkle (PhD in New Testament) wrote this blog, you may find interesting.

God loves sex. The first two commands recorded in the Bible are “have dominion over creation,” and then “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:26-28). In other words, rule the world and have lots of sex. Not a bad day at the office.

Whoever said God was some cosmic killjoy? God created sex and declared it to be “good.”

Within Christian circles, it’s assumed God only wants us to have sex if we’re married. Sex outside of marriage is one of the clearest, unquestionable prohibitions in Christianity. But where does the Bible teach this? Can you name a verse?
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This Sunday is Father’s Day. Make it the purpose of your life to make God look good.

Years ago I signed up for a seminar on writing a personal mission statement. You know, those short paragraphs where you to try to summarize everything you want, and God wants, your life to be about. I found it tough trying to cram into three or four run-on sentences a lifetime of dreams for myself.

Then a friend introduced me to a phrase he’d heard Pastor John Piper use which captured perfectly the essence of God’s highest aspirations for me and mine for him. In an instant I knew it would become my new mission statement. (And I hope yours as well.)

The purpose of my life is to make God look good.
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Five years ago, I began writing a second book entitled Making God Look Good. But, it didn’t feel Spirit-led, so I dropped it. But this is the Introduction from that book and to my Father’s Day blog next week, Making God Look Good.
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