The greater sin is to think the lesser was of no consequence.
This may be too old for many of you, but when I was a young man, John Lennon’s hit song “Mind Games” was often played on the radio. I do not endorse it, but the song’s idea stuck in my mind. The idea is that everyone lies to themselves, playing mind games to justify their actions. Though his song misses the mark, the idea is valid.
Once we receive Christ as our Savior, we have the power to break this bondage, but it is easy to slip back into it. It often starts with something that fits into a “moral grey area.”
Your boss congratulates you for something that you AND a co-worker did. You may say to yourself, “The boss will also congratulate Katey,” but you don’t know that. So, you play a mind game to make it okay that you didn’t speak up to ensure Katey also received praise. As you become comfortable living in a moral grey area, you begin to sin “small sins.”
You may decide that you disagree with some outfit your pastor’s daughter wore to church. Instead of talking with the pastor, you begin griping to other members – I’m just creating an example. Gossip is a very serious sin. So, after you’ve spoken your mind to a few brothers and sisters in Christ, you begin to think about your action. And here comes the mind game.
You tell yourself that what you did wasn’t a big deal. You decide to stop, but you don’t repent, and you don’t go to your pastor and ask for forgiveness. Now, the greater sin is to think that the lesser sin was of no consequence.
Let me hurry to say that I’ve not been immune to this kind of thinking. It is a danger to every believer. The Apostle Paul warned us: “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.1” What we must do is to live in faith, hope, and abundant love2. These will guard us from falling into those mind games.
Footnotes
- Ephesians 5:15a – Children of Light. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved July 3, 2025, from https://biblehub.com/ephesians/5-15.htm ↩︎
- 1 Corinthians 13:13 – Love. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved July 3, 2025, from https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/13-13.htm ↩︎
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