Direct Sin vs. Indirect Sin

So there's the matter of sin—direct sin and indirect sin. The opinions held by myself, others, foe and friend.

Many, whether we call it such or not, realize sin. Everyone is upset when they are wronged. Many assume that something is wrong because it is done to them and they didn't want it done. Not because the act is intrinsically wrong.

Our culture clings to a form of tolerance, fearing to be judgmental. Yet anyone who has been raped knows—that was wrong. Black and white. No question about it.

Still most are afraid to confront sin for what it is—a perversion of the way things ought to be. We are upset at the sins of others—sweat shop labor and mistreatment of illegal immigrants, animals, unborn children, the environment, the elderly. . . . But we must also become aware of and upset at the sins we are directly involved in, not only those that we may indirectly contribute to.

For example:  for most of us sex trafficking is not a sin that we're directly involved in; we want to be sure not to make it acceptable, not to contribute to it, not to ignore it, to help heal the people hurt by it. But there are some who are directly involved in it. They have to deal with the sin in their own lives, in their own hearts, committed by their own actions. This is where change happens, this is where self-judgment along with the help that only God provides can bring about change.

I'm reminded of I Corinthians 11:30-32, That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

There may even come a point at which we realize we are directly involved in what we would otherwise consider indirect sins. From the same example of trafficking: we are offended, and rightly so, at sex slavery and the sex trade in general, but are we so upset by the blatant misuse of sexuality in our culture? Do we still purchase from companies that exploit sexuality for the sake of sales? If so than we are trading one sin for another - one type of exploitation for another.  Instead of contributing to the use of sweat shop labor and mistreatment of illegal aliens we are contributing to the way our culture uses sex to drive up sales.

So what can we do? We can't boycott everything! Can we? We could, but then what?

What about the sins we're tempted by? What about our own sexual perversion? The sins we're directly involved in? Lying, cheating, hating, being easily angered, cursing, pride, lust, selfishness . . . .

The point that I'm trying to make here is that there's a deep river running through each of our lives. Sin. We must face it directly. We must face the sin in our own lives as we try to face that in our society.

Consider Luke 6:41 – 42 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? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Below is a list (in no way complete) of sins we may view as direct and indirect. It all depends on you. For you, if you are the owner of a sweat shop—that would put sweat shops in the Direct list. If you are a modest person, and don't want to contribute money to companies that use immodesty to make sales, then immodesty transfers to the Indirect list, and so on.

Indirect

sweat shops

animal cruelty

taking advantage of the poor

taking advantage of our natural resources

pollution

abortion

euthanasia

the exponential (and possibly uncontrollable) growth of technology

human trafficking

Direct

sexual perversion

perverse speech

immodesty

hatred

violence

inconsideration

easily angered

discontent

unbelief

disobedient of legal, governmental, natural authority

impatience

irresponsibility

Do you have any examples? Want to add to these lists? Have questions, comments, arguments, concerns? Please let us know what you think. This is a very important topic that must be addressed in our hearts and, by result, in our society.  

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