Sins of Commission and Omission

Saturday 8/17/2013 7:56 AM

Here it is, Saturday, and this is the first time I have had my devotional time this week.  Jaci and I went on a short vacation and my Bible pretty much stayed in my backpack.  I turned to my new week in my devotional book to discover the theme for the week is time management.  This does not surprise me at all since it seems that whatever the topic for the week is it is always relevant to my life in some way.

My assigned reading for today includes James 4:13-17, a warning about boasting about the future plans I have.  James gives a stern reminder that I don’t know what will happen tomorrow so I should live in the present and speak of the future only when acknowledging the fact that it will come only if God wills it to be.  The section ends with verse 17, “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”  The church tradition in which I grew up taught there were two types of sin, sins of commission and sins of omission, doing something I shouldn’t do and not doing something I should.  The teaching of the church stressed that both were bad but, when push came to shove, in practice, the sin of commission was viewed more severely than that of omission.

An action that I take is open for all to see so if I do something I shouldn’t the community of which I am a part is well aware of it.  However if I do nothing when prompted by God to do something, then God and I are the only ones who are aware.  It seems like I get off scot-free.  The Bible warns against hindering the Spirit’s work in my life.  I imagine a sin of omission might fit into that category.  If the Spirit of God prompts me to act and I fail to do so then I hinder the working of God in the world.  His kingdom will be established my some means but my disobedience to his call forces him to use other means.  I do not want to be a hindrance to God but there are times when I am.  Lord, give me the ears to hear your Spirit and the courage to obey.