The Little White Lie

          I remember as a child that my mother would sometimes refer to white lies.  I would often be charged with telling a white lie. It seems that a white lie is one that is still untrue, but the results were less than if you told a "black lie." Of course, I never heard tell of a black lie. It was as if some sins were less important than others.  After recently purchasing some new white shirts, I noticed that when i hung them next to my old white shirts that the new ones were a lot more white than the old ones.  The old ones had become a little less white the longer that I had them.  You can also notice that if you get the smallest spot on a white shirt it stands out so everyone can see it and it is very hard to get rid of it.   There are those sins that we commit in our lives where we feel they are not so bad.   We like to classify sins as those which are really bad and those that are, well, not so bad as to cause much of a problem.  They quickly come and go.  We have the big sins, such as, murder and adultery, but many of the rest of them seem to fall into categories that are less important. At least, that is our thinking. It is interesting that some of the lists of sins in the New Testament that include the big ones also include lying and gossiping. Now, who would of thought that gossiping was a big sin. James 2:10 reminds us, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." 
        When it comes right down to it, there is no classification of sin in God's eyes. That is to say, there are no sins that are less or greater in importance. A sin is a sin. James has pointed that out. If we break the law in only one point, then we are guilty before God.  We may like to say at this point, "but..."  Well, there is no "but" in this case.  A sin is a sin.  This is why we are called sinners in the first place and why we need to have a Savior.   One drop of red ink on a white shirt can be seen by everyone.  We all have committed sins. James pointed out that we only need to sin in one point. But, I dare say, that most of us have sinned in a lot more than just one point. Do you love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and with all your mind? If not, then you have committed another sin. So, while adultery and murder are big sins, one of equal importance is not loving God as you should. But, we have a Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. We can rejoice because He has redeemed us.  Most true believers have come to the point in their lives that they realize that they are sinners and stand in need of a Savior.  Isaiah reminded us that we can be made as white as snow even though our sins are standing out as scarlet.   The Lord Jesus Christ purchased us and therefore we have peace with God.  We perhaps remember the little song that we learned in Sunday School, "Gone, Gone Gone Gone, Yes my sins are gone."   Praise God today that He has purchased us and through His perfect sacrifice we are made clean again.