It is not uncommon to hear or read the statement, “all sins are equal.” In other words, if I drive one mile per hour over the speed limit, I may as well have exterminated millions of people in the eyes of God.

If that’s true, we should teach our children that disobeying us by taking a cookie from the cookie jar makes them just as guilty as a murderer. I believe that this line of thinking is basically incorrect and ignores matters of the heart, common sense, and what the Bible teaches. It also paves the way for a society in which dangerous criminals are not punished and character is ignored. After all, if we are all equally wicked, we can’t discriminate between a good person and an evil one. We couldn’t know Adolf Hitler from John the Baptist. Both should be allowed to lead a country or baby sit our children. Right?

It is true that all sins separate us from God. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…” All sin leads to death and judgment without Jesus, but does that mean all sins are equal? I believe the Bible teaches they are not.

Are All Sins Punished in the Same Way?

The Old Testament tells us that God assigned different penalties to certain sins. This suggests that certain sins differ in seriousness. Under the Old Testament law, a thief paid restitution; an occult practitioner was cut off from Israel; one who committed adultery was put to death (see Exodus 22 and Leviticus 20).

Luke 11:23-24 says, “If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” Because these people refused to soften their hearts, Jesus tells them that they will have an even harsher judgment and punishment than two towns destroyed for their wickedness.

Are Some Sins Worse than Others?

In 1 Corinthians 6:18, Paul says, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.”

The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to express that sexual sin is different from other sins. Because the sin is against the human body, Christians commit the sin against the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, “All other sins are outside the body.” This distinguishes sexual sin from coveting, for example, because coveting is a sin done outside the human body.

Jesus suggested that some sins are worse than others when he told the Pharisees they were straining at a gnat (something little, but still bad) but swallowed a camel (something bigger and worse). “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel” (Matthew 23: 23 – 24).

The words, “the more important matters of the law,” clearly point out that all commands, though each needing to be followed with the same enthusiasm, are not of equal significance. The statement, “You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel” is also applied in the same way. “Gnat” implies small sins, while “camel” refers to larger ones.

Remember Jesus’ words to Pilate? He said, “The one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin” (John 19:11). The phrase, “greater sin,” is there in black and white (or red in the Red Letter Edition). Pilate tried to release Jesus because he could see He had done nothing wrong. Jerusalem’s religious leaders should have known better. Jesus should have been welcomed as the one who fulfilled the prophecies, but the crowd amazed Pilate by demanding the death of the innocent Jesus. Jesus made it clear that those who should have known better held greater guilt. Jesus “came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11). Pilate’s sin did not compete with theirs and so Jesus told Pilate that the ones who handed Him over were “guilty of a greater sin.”

As is true in the case of the Jews, who should have known better than Pilate, where God grants loving blessings and rare opportunities, He also demands greater responsibility. One who knew his master’s will but didn’t fulfill it will suffer more than one who didn’t know (Luke 12:47,48).

In Matthew 7:3 Jesus mocks someone who struggles with great sin but takes it upon himself to “fix” another person who commits a less serious sin. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Basically Jesus said that those who commit and struggle with worse sins ought not to “nit pick” those with lesser struggles.

Clearly, Jesus used an example of two things not equal in size or severity to each other when he compared a “speck of sawdust” and a “plank.”

Some sins reveal a heart that is farther separated from God and bring harsher consequences than others. John told us that anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. God’s law convicts me for even thinking about killing the neighbor whose weed poison destroys my wife’s roses. But if my sin remains a thought and I don’t actually kill him, he is still alive. I have demonstrated restraint by resisting the desires of my temporary rage. That’s something that should separate Christians from the world. Our desires may sometimes be similar to those in the world, but Christians should try to do what is right by listening to the Holy Spirit rather than our egos or hormones. In the case of my neighbor, I would be wrong to say, “Thinking about it is just as bad as actually killing him.” Likewise, I obviously shouldn’t say, “I’ve already thought it, I might as well murder him.”

We Shouldn’t Justify “Smaller” Sins

All sins deserve God’s judgment, but not all receive the same judgment. We face danger, however, in attempting to justify our sins by their size. Every sin will lead us to hell if we don’t have the grace and forgiveness of Jesus.

God Offers Forgiveness

Every sin—no matter how large—can be forgiven and swallowed in God’s infinite ocean of grace. Just as God forgives those who turn from their wicked ways, so should we. God offers salvation to even the most wicked. 1 John 1:7 tells us “The blood of Jesus purifies us from every sin” (1 John 1:7). God is willing to forgive all!

Nobody should live like this!
St Ann couple, five kids exist in dirt poor conditions
BY CONRAD HAMILTON Senior staff reporter [email protected]
Sunday, March 25, 2012

TO the naked eyes, the structure sitting atop a hill overlooking the small farming community of Stepney in St Ann could easily pass as a derelict building, likely to crumble any minute. But for 31-year-old Hyacinth Lewis, her common-law husband, Jonah Johnson, and their five children, a small section of the rundown building, measuring less than the size of the average bathroom, serves as the family home.
The conditions in which they live are so destitute that they go to sleep at nights without the most basic of provisions — a bed.
Two-year-old Kimone sits on step near an abandoned section of the house in Stepney, St Ann. (Photos: Garfield Robinson)
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Last week, the family was visited by a team comprising new member of parliament for South West St Ann, Keith Walford, representatives of the St Ann Poor Relief Department, Food For the Poor and Social Development Commission. According to Johnson, the eldest child, 10-year-old Jevoni, is his stepson whom he treats as his own. The other children — Jonah, 8; Alesha, 7; Jordan, 4; and the youngest girl, Kimone, 2; are from the relationship with Lewis.
The member of parliament said he had received reports about the family’s living conditions, and had invited the agencies to visit the community last week Wednesday to conduct an assessment of the situation.
But on their arrival, the grown men and woman who formed the tour party were left in utter disbelief, even as the vibrant Jonah Johnson showed them around his ‘house’.
“Yea man, a Jonah mi name; is a name from the Bible”, said the 41-year-old whose hardened face bore no resemblance to his declared age.
“From mi born a never see anything like this. So where unno sleep”? asked a representative of the Poor Relief Department, as he looked at a huge hole in a section of the enclosure that gave little protection from the elements.
While he spoke, the bewildered members of the team took note of several items of clothing on the floor of the enclosure, and realised that the pieces of clothing also served as the family’s bed.
“The whole a wi hug up and sleep inna the corner when night come,” explained the short, dreadlocked Johnson, who said he didn’t benefit from formal schooling. He had to leave school when he was in grade one as his grandmother, who at the time was his caregiver, became blind.
He, however, gave credit to his partner who he said benefited from better schooling.
Describing himself as a farmer, Johnson complained that things have been extremely difficult and pointed out that the drought conditions affecting the area, as well as the difficulties in finding money to purchase seeds and fertilisers are making it even harder for him to feed his family. As he spoke, his two-year-old daughter stumbled into an empty water drum that contained a single sheet of zinc that served as a catchment for rainwater. As the child fell under the weight of the drum and piece of metal, her mother, who for most of the visit remained silent, sprung to her feet to offer comfort to the child.
From observation, four of the children seemed quite contented and showed no obvious signs of being underfed, but the youngest, Kimone, appeared weak and was at the time exhibiting flu-like symptoms.
Both parents said three of the school-aged children — Jevoni, Jonah and Alesha — attend school on a regular basis, but the elder Johnson explained that Jordan has not been going to school as he owes the basic school fee.
Johnson also acknowledged that his family had not been receiving welfare support through the State-run Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education.
“We haffi do something for them,” said Walford, even as some members of the visiting team held back tears while taking a closer look at the conditions under which the five children and two adults were living.
Asked how they were coping with the water challenges in the area, Johnson explained that the tank at the front of his house, as well as the sole water drum in his yard were empty. He added that he was relying on a neighbour’s tank for water. He disclosed, too, that the neighbour’s toilet was also used by members of his family, as his had crumbled.
Residents of the area are appealing for help for the family and are hoping that the visit will result in them getting improved housing. A few of the residents who came to the house during the visit also suggested that improved living conditions could help in ending a recent spate of disagreements between Johnson and Lewis.
Even while the Sunday Observer was on hand, both acknowledged that they were experiencing difficulties in their relationship and disclosed that Lewis had plans of moving out of the house and that she would be leaving all the children, except her first son, with Johnson.
The members of the visiting team, who attempted to resolve the dispute on location, suggested that it was almost impossible for the couple’s relationship not to be affected by the poor living conditions.
In a subsequent discussion with the Sunday Observer, Deputy Inspector of Poor for St Ann Astley Dawson said the Poor Relief Department was arranging counselling for Lewis and Johnson. Dawson also disclosed that plans were underway to place the family on the Government’s poor relief programme, which would result in them receiving a monthly stipend of $2,000.
While suggesting that a house could be made available to the family, one representative of Food For the Poor explained that due diligence will have to be done to, among other things, confirm the ownership of the land on which a house could be constructed.
The family’s living conditions bring into sharp focus the challenge Jamaica faces to meet one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), that of cutting poverty in half by 2015.
The United Nations arm in Jamaica pointed to the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions’ 2009 report which stated that the population living in poverty decreased from 28.4 per cent in 1990 to 9.9 per cent in 2007. “However, it subsequently increased in recent years, from 12.3 per cent in 2008 to 16.5 per cent in 2009”.
The survey showed that decline in the rate of poverty has been slowest in the rural areas, which in 2009 had the highest prevalence of poverty of 22.5 per cent, compared to 12.8 per cent in the Kingston Metropolitan Area and 10.2 per cent in other towns, with slightly more males than females existing in poverty.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Nobody-should-live-like-this-_11112889#ixzz1q9TOn2rA