His friends whispered as loudly as they dared, “No, Avijit. Do not go up to those people. They do not want you there. Stay with us.”
Avijit walked on towards the settlement, ignoring his friends’ pleas. “I’m not like you,” he muttered “They will take me in and help me.”
As he approached a woman laden with wares she had just purchased at the bazaar, she shrieked as she gazed at the boy approaching her. “Stand back,” she warned. “Don’t get any closer!”
“But,” he tried to present his case, “I am not as bad as the others,” he pointed to the three that stood at the outskirts of the city, watching what would happen.
“Still, you are a leper!” reminded the woman.
“But Ketak’s fingers and toes are disfigured,” he pointed to a distant figure of a young girl wrapped in tattered rags. “Look at mine. They are straight and strong.” He showed the woman his young, brown fingers. They were not affected by the dreaded disease.
“Maybe not, but still you have the cursed disease. Stand back.” She said as she also took one step backward.
“But, my sores are not as bad as Badal’s,” he pointed to another figure looking on from afar. “See, they are a lot smaller,” he pointed to the sores on his face and ears.
The woman shrugged as she looked at the disfiguring mass of sores spread across the young boy’s face and body, “But still you have leprosy. If you get any closer, I could also get the disease. Stand back. Stay with your own kind, so we don’t get it,” and she quickly scurried away.
No matter how Avijit compared himself to others, the truth of the matter was that he still had a contagious disease. He was still a leper and was a danger to others around him. Many compare their sins to others in a similar manner. They know what they have done, but they justify their iniquities as not as “bad” as others’ deeds.
They compare themselves to the convicted thief behind bars and justify, “Yes, I have stolen pens from work, but I’m not as bad as that man that robbed a bank.”
The truth whispers back, “Ah ha, but you are still a thief.”
“I may lie to keep myself from getting in trouble with my parents; but I’m not as bad as that person that lies all the time.”
Again the truth speaks softly to the conscience, “But you still are a liar!”
Stumbling for an example to clear any suggestions that they are guilty of being “bad”, justification fires back, “But, I am a good person. I’m not as bad as others!”
The small, soft voice of conviction answers back, “But sinning only once still qualifies you as a sinner. Do not compare yourself to other sinners. The penalty for sin is hell.”
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” II Cor. 10:12
Unfortunately, it is “human” to compare ourselves to others. It is not our measuring tool that matters, however. It is God’s judgment that matters, and He says no sinner can go to heaven. Since we are all sinners, the prognosis is not good. However, because God loves us, He gave us a way to have our sins forgiven and forgotten. That way is to recognize you are a sinner, and believe that Jesus has paid for your sins with His blood at Calvary. All we need to do is admit our sinnership and trust Christ’s death is sufficient to pay for our sins; and then we can have God’s promise of heaven one day. All sin can be forgiven, and we can have our name written in heaven’s “Book of Life!
“And there shall in no wise enter into it [heaven] any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Rev. 21:27
I remember when I was lost and I was invited to a Bible believing church a few times. The last time I went before getting saved, I was justifying in my mind that I was ok and a good person because I didn’t rob a bank or kill anyone. My sins were minor like lying but overall I was a good person. I later learned that my thought life pretty much had sin written all over it everyday. I went back to my church because I didn’t want to go back to that church that pointed out I was a sinner like the robber and the murderer. God continued to convict me. I knew I was in a church that did not teach the truth. After about a week, I got on my knees and asked God for forgiveness, thanked him for his shed blood for me, and asked Him to save me. I claim Romans 10:9-13 and thank God for my salvation everyday!
Thanks again Bro Brinkworth!
I agree I too enjoy reading others comments as we all have an input on what we perceive is meant and can share this understanding with others as they do us and help each other become stronger in Christ . Do we all sin , lie and such oh sure and if we say we don’t then we lie .
Good biblical principle, Star.
1Jo 1:8 ¶ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
This reminds me of people that try to classify sin in different categories! Some view a homosexual as worse as a drunkard! Some view a drug addict as worse than a liar!
I don’t remember where this verse is, and I couldn’t find it this morning if someone paid me to find it, but I believe Paul said, “If you break one of the commandments, you’re guilty of breaking them all”
So yes, sin is sin! Telling one lie is just as bad as murdering somebody! It still disqualifies a person from heaven unless they repent and trust Christ as Savio!
Great devotion!
Did you mean, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10?
Yes! That’s it! I could not think of where that was at for nothing this morning!
Bro Doug,
I heard a man comment once that covetousness was the most accepted and whitewashed sin there is among church people, but is minimized in our minds to the point that it is not at all the same thing as telling a lie, murdering someone, etc… To your point; it is very much the same thing.
God, sanctify us and show us these things. Convict us when we are in the wrong so we can seek forgiveness.
Appreciate you, thanks for your comments…I always enjoy them.
I enjoy all ya’lls comments too! Just like you said one time, “Iron sharpens Iron” – I know that’s in Proverbs too!
From my Bible reading this evening:
Isaiah 6:5..Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.
From The Attributes of God 1, by AW Tozier….Thought you all would enjoy and be challenged by this.
We come into the presence of God with tainted souls. We come with our own concept of morality, having learned it from books, from newspapers, and from school. We come to God dirty-our whitest white is dirty, our churches are dirty, and our thoughts are dirty..and do nothing about it!
If we came to God dirty, but trembling and shocked and awestruck in his presence, if we knelt at HIs feet and cried with Isaiah, “I am undone: because I am a man of unclean lips,” then I could understand. But we skip into His awful presence. We’re dirty, but we have a book called SEVEN STEPS TO SALVATION that gives us seven verses to get out of our problems. And each year we have more and more Christians, more people going to Church, more Church buildings, more money, AND less spirituality and less holiness. We’re forgetting holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.
I tell you this: I want God to be what God is: the impeccably Holy, unapproachably Holy Thing, the All-Holy One. I want Him to be and remain THE HOLY. I want His heaven to be holy and His throne to be holy. I don’t want him to change or modify His requirements. Even if it shuts me out, I want something holy left in the universe.
Thanks Bro Brinkworth.
He had a way with words.
That’s one thing I like about this site. People expound on what was said. They show the same thing at different angles, which gives an interested reader a more understanding of the concept taught. That is what I try to do with the Bible View. I get articles that talk about the same thing, but different views.
God did the same thing with the Gospels. Jesus was the subject in them, but four men told His story from their different perspectives.
I really appreciate all the input. From time to time I check up on where the different readers are from (up to 170 countries per month) and wonder how these different views must be helping them get a clearer understanding of what the Word of God teaches.
Thank you all so much.
What a great ministry! Very personal. I know I look forward to it. You challenge me.