Respectable Sins

Today's challenge is something that has impacted my life recently.

I chose this book:

 We are reading this for my church couples' small group. This book has really opened my eyes to the sin in my life. It focuses on the "acceptable" or "respectable" sins of society. We all know about the "big" sins or the "really bad" ones like murder, stealing, adultery, etc... But Bridges talks about those little sins that we don't make a big deal out of because they're "normal," "natural," or "everybody does it." These are things like ungodliness (which basically just means not thinking about, giving credit or recognition to, or spending time with God throughout the day), pride, impatience, anger, lack of self-control, unthankfulness, discontent, anxiety, etc...

It's funny because each chapter is like another slap in the face at first. It's like...aw, man! I'm a terrible person! I really didn't think I was that bad, but just look at me! I'm all kinds of prideful and unthankful. And I am quite often discontent and anxious. But the good thing about the book is it always points back to Christ and His ability to transform your heart and correct the sin in our lives. And it's also important to remember that yes, we can and should always look to Christ for change, and the good news is that Christ will continue to forgive us and use our circumstances to sanctify us. This book has helped me realize some of the more subtle sins in my life, and have lead me to look to Jesus for salvation and forgiveness from them.

I can definitely see change in my life from this book. It was because of the chapter on ungodliness that lead me to start reading the Bible first thing every morning, and that has really helped keep my mind and heart on God throughout the day. And when you do that, the other sins start lessening, too.

I highly recommend this book, especially for those who are already Christians. It's a great tool to reveal areas in your life that still need work but may go unnoticed because the rest of the world views them as "no big deal." It can be frustrating at times, but in the end it's a very encouraging and helpful book. It has certainly impacted me!

Happy Saturday to you all! And I hope you have a blessed rest of the weekend! :)
~Christy