I think I can safely say that all of us, at one time or another, having rated our sins on a scale of 1-10, or categorized them into “big” and “little.” We might not ever do the really “big” sins, you know – adultery, murder, and all that, but we do have plenty of favorite “little” ones – gossip, being judgmental, telling an occasional white lie. Because we don’t commit the “big” sins, we tell ourselves that we’re doing well.
But we run into a problem when we grade our sins. If we take stock and decide that all our sins fall into the 1 to 3 range, we might tell ourselves that we don’t need to repent. After all, they’re just little sins. They’re barely on the scale at all, right? No need to worry.
You know, I don’t recall one instance in scripture where the Lord tells us that it’s okay to have four pet sins that rate less than a 3 on the scale. In fact, what I do recall is the statement that He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. He doesn’t have a sin scale. All sin is, to Him, abhorrent.
When we allow ourselves to go from day to day, ignoring our sins of whatever size, we are refusing to take advantage of the Atonement our Savior gave to us as a precious gift. He holds it out to us, and all we have to do is accept it. And yet as we justify ourselves by saying, “Oh, it’s just a little sin,” we deny that incredible opportunity to truly become clean in His sight. Why would we ever do that to ourselves?
In addition, all sin, regardless of the size, takes us out of the company of the Holy Spirit. A little lie here and there, a smidge of gossip now and then, and before we know it, we are noticing a distinct lack of the Spirit in our lives and we can’t figure out why. We didn’t commit any “big” sins, and yet we’ve lost the companionship of the Holy Ghost. It doesn’t matter how we justify it to ourselves—if we refuse to acknowledge that we need to change, we are deluding ourselves and missing out on some of the most choice blessings.
We especially fall into a trap when we start comparing our sins to someone else’s. Hmmm, my sins are at about a two, but Sally’s are at least a five. I’m still good. We can’t possibly rate our righteousness against someone else’s—we don’t know their hearts or their intentions.
As we honestly evaluate ourselves, let’s also take care that we not judge ourselves too harshly (I’ll never be able to get forgiveness for this) but also that we don’t cut ourselves too much slack (there’s no need for me to repent of that). If we have a behavior that is not in alignment with our Heavenly Father’s desires for us, we can go about resolving it without beating ourselves up or trying to justify it away. Remember, the Atonement is for all of us and for every sin, regardless of size.
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