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Christian Network

It is easy to hate another’s sin just because it makes us feel uncomfortable by reminding us of our own moral failures. Often the result is that we either do not want to be around the person in question or we feel an almost compulsive need to criticize them. Both responses to other’s sin are selfish and unloving. The only legitimate reasons for hating another person’s sin are love for that person and love for the God they are sinning against. Only when these are the motives is it possible to approach the sinning person and rebuke them lovingly and with a sincere heart. Until we have such a heart perhaps we should never presume to open our mouths.

Sin is, of course, the universal experience of all mankind with the single exception of Christ. As believers we are each called not just to reckon with our own sins but to also appropriately reckon with the sins of others. Dealing with a sinning brother or sister is one of the most difficult challenges of the Christian life. The temptation in these situations is always to either accuse or excuse. Both these reactions come from the flesh and not the Spirit. When we angrily point the finger at someone we are acting out of a prideful arrogance that conveniently glosses over our own evils and when we alternatively give them the impression that sin is no big deal we act out of a permissive laxity that does the same thing. Either approach is equally wrong and sinful in and of itself.

It is vitally important to take the time to recognize our own impulses in reacting to transgression in others. Otherwise we may multiply their transgression by our own and lose a precious opportunity to be agents of reconciliation and healing. The key is found in not immediately reacting to whatever the person has done wrong. Wisdom dictates thinking before we speak on many occasions and certainly this is one of them. Our immediate passion for either accusing or excusing must not be allowed to possess us; rather we must control our initial urges and remain silent for the moment. This gives us the opportunity to determine whether we are ready to truly "speak the truth in love" or whether we need to be silent for the time being and check our own spirit.

It has been said that motive is everything and this is clearly the case in how we react to someone else’s moral lapses. We must search our motives before we presume to say one word of correction to another human being. We must also ask the Holy Spirit to help us enter into this self-examination, while at the same time granting us a spirit of sincere love. Then we can deal with the sinning person, as God would have us, not as we would have us. This is the only way to insure that we do not compound another’s sin with our own.