the worst sin

 Today we read from these verses in the One Year Bible:

Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20
Luke 7:36-8:3
Psalm 69:1-18
Proverbs 12:1

Let's look at Luke. This is a wonderful story. A pharisee invites Jesus to eat at his house. Jesus accepts and is sitting at the table when a sinful woman (we're not told what sins she committed, but many assume it was sexual promiscuity) comes and kisses His feet, cleans His feet with her tears, and anoints His feet with perfume. The pharisee says to himself, "If this so called 'prophet' knew what kind of woman this was, He wouldn't have anything to do with her."

Jesus tells a little story and makes it clear that the woman loves Jesus greatly because He's forgiven her great sins, and the pharisee doesn't love Him much because he doesn't think he needs forgiveness.

Our society seems to think that sexual sins are the worst of all the sins. Many parents will kick their kids out of the house for sexual impropriety, when they wouldn't think of it for sins such as stealing or lying. 

But the huge irony of all of this is that lust is the least of the seven deadly sins. And PRIDE, which the pharisee is displaying very clearly, is the WORST of the seven deadly sins.

That means that when people are gossiping about the girl in town who is sexually immoral, the people gossiping are guilty of a worse sin than the poor girl they're talking about (who may or may not have done the things they are gossiping about). 

God, thanks for teaching us to lay down our pride and accept your forgiveness for this chief of sins.