Negligible

For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
James 2:11 NLT

When this was written, committing a sin was going against the laws of God. In today's society, there are laws on the books that are in direct opposition to God's law, so there might be some ambiguity for some on certain laws. However, I believe we can all agree that murder and adultery are considered major sins. I think we would agree that robbing banks and stealing cars are also considered major sin issues. Those kinds of actions stem from whatever is in our hearts. We would not commit murder if there wasn't hatred. We would not commit adultery if our hearts were pure. We would not rob a bank or steal a car if we walked according to the Word of God, for example - in honor preferring one another in love.

Then there are things that we consider negligent; for instance, jay-walking or a California Roll at a stop sign. For those of you who don't recognize it by that label, it's the action of slowing down but not completely stopping at a stop sign, and then just rolling on. Houstonians are notorious for not using their turn signals and for running red lights or stop signs. That is considered negligent driving, a minor infraction. Practically negligible, which is defined as being so small as to almost not be worth considering. We'll come back to that in a minute.

Verse 9 reads, But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. WHAT?!?

Verse 10 further explains, For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. Think about that!

We tend to think negligent driving is just being careless, but the truth is that completely horrible, tragic things happen through negligence. There are those who may think that favoring some people over others is not a big deal but the Word of God says it's a sin.

Sin separates us from God. That is not negligible, that's tragic.

Prayer:

Father,
          Open our hearts and minds to the Truth of Your Word, so that we can walk in its fullness. Help us to see through ALL of satan's deceptions. Give us clean hands and pure hearts before You, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen