Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must repay sevenfold, giving up all the wealth of his house. Proverbs 6:30-31, TLV

Are There Different Types of Sin?     Another blink* passage. In fact, most of chapter 6 might be passed over as not relevant to us. But, you know me, up sprouted something relevant. At least, I hope so.

Today’s verses are a double-blink. They seem to randomly appear within this pericope (vss. 20-35) about adultery and prostitution. But, of course, the two verses about stealing are pertinent to adultery.

There are certain sins we commit that are serious, but understandable — as these verses about stealing in order to feed our ourselves and/or family.

Then there are the sins that break covenants and can destroy families. In the community of followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and His Messiah, these sins—in most cases—are not understandable. And for clear reasons.

Life Altering

So why did the writer of this chapter include these two verses? Perhaps it was to show that there are sins with repercussions that can be life-altering. Life-altering in the sense that simply making financial restitution for adultery or fornication won’t resolve the damage (verse 35).

Sins against our body are very serious (1 Corinthians 6:18) because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). That’s why the ramifications of infidelity or fornication have an added measure of consequences for followers of Jesus.

Selfish vs. Selfless

But I think there’s even more we can glean for this. And this is what “provoked” my spirit this morning. It is the difference between selfishness and selflessness.

When we sin for selfish reasons we lose credibility and can lose the trust of those we love and respect. And it’s not just with adultery or fornication. There’s stealing. Not honoring our parents. Calling others bad names. Unforgiveness. Lusting after someone. Pornography. Lying. And the list goes on.

We can try to make restitution for all these sins, but the restoration of our integrity — as to how people may see us — may not happen. Right or wrong, it just may not happen.

For the truly repentant, our Heavenly Father wants to help us navigate the “restoration” process — spiritual, emotional, financial, and with our credibility. He’s the only one who truly can because He deals with the hearts of His children. He can take a hardened, selfish heart and turn it to selfless.

Regardless of whether others trust us again or not, we can be set free from the bondage of sin. That is why He sent His Son. That’s why He loves us enough to let us get caught. And loves us enough to direct us to restitution and reconciliation.

These are the hard lessons. But these are the testimonies of redemption and restoration that change others’ lives. And that’s a good thing.

Think More About It

Do you feel the difference between “regular” sins and selfish sins?

Until tomorrow, may we live selflessly, my friends.

Do nothing out of selfishness or conceit, but with humility consider others as more important than yourselves, looking out not only for your own interests but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4, TLV

Have you ever noticed that when we’re going through difficult times, we tend to be selfish. Perhaps a better term would be that we’re in survival-mode. Being in that state of mind can cause us to only look out for ourselves, and/or our family. But that’s not where our Father longs for us to be. Let’s pray for Israel that they do not forget their humanity and their DNA calling to be a blessing to the nations. And, while we’re at it, let’s pray for ourselves, too. Amen? God bless you.

*A “blink” proverb is a proverb that on the surface, we don’t believe applies to us or is relevant for today. However, on closer reflection, there are significant insights and wisdom for us. Thanks to Dr. Raleigh Washington for the great analogy.