I have a confession to make.  This is humbling and definitely not an easy thing to come clean about…but it’s necessary for this blog series.  I don’t always read everything that is sent to me.  There…I said it!  I feel better!  Got that off my chest!  Shew!!  Over the years, I have been given books, received emails, folded up magazine articles, and hosts of other media forms that I was expected to read, glean from, and respond in kind to the one who sent or gave it to me so we could share a precious moment of spiritual growth.  Honestly, I tried to keep up early on…I really did.  But then I started getting things, especially emails and FB messages, that said if I was REALLY a Christian…or if I REALLY believed in prayer…I would read and forward it to everyone I had ever met since Kindergarten.   And if I read it and didn’t send it to all my friends, then I was obviously not a Christian and was a devout disciple of Satan himself.  I drew a line in the sand and bailed out and adopted the policy of reading what I could when I could…with the result being obvious–some things got read and some did not.  Even today, some things get read…and some do not.  My frail humanity is the culprit…but at least my conscience is now clear.  🙂

Now that my dirty little secret is now “out there” I hope we are all still friends!  🙂  One person I never ignore a message from is my wife, Kris.  If she sends me something, history has repeatedly shown it’s in my best interest to read it.  Kris, simply put, notices things that I don’t.  She has a way of picking up on things on social media that might just be of value to me for a host of reasons.  Her batting average is outstanding.

Most recently, she sent me an article written by Rachel-Claire Cockrell on iBelieve.com entitled, “8 Sins Christians are Starting to Ignore.”  Again, if anyone other than Kris had sent this to me, I cannot say with certainty that I would have read it.  But since it did come from her, I stared long and hard at the title and decided to give it a quick read.  As usual, I’m glad I did.  The article, though very brief, offers a list and a brief description of very common sins in our churches that many in our day would not consider to be too big of a deal.  The very idea of this reminds me of a classic book by Jerry Bridges called, “Respectable Sins:  Confronting the Sins We Tolerate.”  (a must read…just sayin)

Cockrell lists the following all-too-common sins:  selfishness/self-righteousness, patriotism (will explain more when I cover this one), fear/worry, pride, gluttony/coveting, gossip (ouch), hatred, and judgment.  In short, much like Bridges, she argues we have become very comfortable with these sins in our lives…so comfortable, in fact, that many of us no longer think of them as sinful.  It’s never a good thing for Christians to be comfortable with things the Bible clearly calls sinful.

I liked the article so much I’ve decided to do a brief series of blogs about the 8 sins Cockrell has listed.  I might also include a couple from Bridges book as well.  So consider this blog an introduction to the series.  To date, I have not done a series of blogs.  Each one has stood alone…written as time allowed.  However I am committed to covering this for our benefit.  Her points are valid and fair.  I had to eat some humble pie myself as I read her descriptions.  My plan is “one blog per sin.”  Sounds funny I know…but hopefully it will be helpful and thought-provoking.  Expect the first one, selfishness/self-righteousness, in a few days.

Blessings and thanks Monticello!  🙂

Bro Mark