SONG OF SOLOMON 2:15 – “Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.”

THEME OF THE DAY: RESPECTABLE SINS. The theme of today’s nugget seems to be quite a contradiction! Respectable sins? No such thing in the eyes of God and should be no such thing in the eyes of His people. Our holy, holy, holy God hates sin and punishes sin to the extreme of measures. And to really see just how much He does hate sin, go to the cross of His Son, the Lord Jesus, and listen to His cries of abandonment:

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Matthew 27:45-46).

So, to make light of any sin is a serious matter, but when it comes to respectable sins, I want to recommend a book by Jerry Brides under the title Respectable Sins. It is an excellent book and what Bridges does is give thorough lists of sins Christians tolerate in their lives, and so often go unchecked. And that is serious and draws our attention to the scripture of the day.

We may interpret King Solomon’s illustration of little foxes spoiling the vineyards as so called little or tolerated sins spoiling the heart of the believer. In Solomon’s word picture, it is the little foxes that are able to get under a fence or stone wall and cause damage to a farmer’s vineyard. In like manner, when we give into or allow the little sins (no such thing) to get settled into our minds and heart they will be manifested in our lives and severely damage our witness for Christ.

Now the application. Below is a list of what we might think are little sins in our lives but if continue to be present, they will deaden our heart to God’s Word, prayer, faithfulness to service, worship, and fellowship with other believers. In reality, allowing any of these to go unchecked and tolerated creates a joyless heart, a lack of peace in our hearts, and a Christian life contrary to how the New Testament portrays we should and can live . . . and now the tolerated sins.

Procrastination, complaining, lack of thanksgiving, anger, impatience, frustration, irritability, loose tongue, worldliness, bitterness, gossip, critical spirit, laziness, taking God’s grace for granted, presuming upon God’s grace, neglecting the Bible, stingy with personal resources, harboring ill thoughts of others, coveting anything or anyone . . . you may continue your list now!

Let me encourage us to get alone with God, and the list above plus what we added, and be searched by God. If confession and repentance is needed, ask Him for them. And in this process of self-examination, be open to any daily attitudes, conduct, and speech that we tolerate, leading the way for us to fight daily against them.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!^”  (Psalm 139:23-24)

PRAYER: Father, keep my heart sensitive to “little sins” that will slowly desensitize my heart to all sin.

REFLECTION:  No sin is small in the eyes of our holy, holy, holy God who gave His Son for all our sins.