Sin is a bit of an uncomfortable topic for most people. We don't often want to tackle the subject, but when we do, we might think of big things - big wrongs - rather than little ones. Wrongs where many lives have been lost because of the acts of selfish, immoral people. Wrongs where lives have been ruined forever because of what someone did. Atrocities that live on in our memories long after the wrong was committed. We expect those who have done these wrong things to be stopped and to be punished, and we mourn the impact of these wrongs.

Yet we might need to consider that there are also smaller wrongs. Things that don't seem all that bad. The little lie, the broken promise, the little bit of gossip, the small slip up or two. Whether we want to admit it or not, we are guilty of many of these smaller wrongs, and we push them to one side. We dismiss them, thinking little or no harm has been done. We make excuses - "Everyone does it," we say, or "No one will notice".

But smaller wrongs can be symptoms of a bigger problem. They can add up. They can mount up. They can start to infect our lives, and change our thinking forever. They can make us less thoughtful, less sincere, less merciful. They can make us less grateful, less law-abiding, less patient. They can start to infect even the things we intend to do for good. We start to give into bad things, and give into our old bad habits, more and more. We become hypocrites.

Many little sins have huge consequences, ones we probably don't see at the start. The little lie that becomes a big lie. The little bit of unlawfulness that leads to a greater disregard for the law. The little bit of speeding that causes a horrible accident. The little bit of drinking that causes a temper to spill over into abuse. The little bit of temptation that has huge fallout for our family and loved ones.

Can we stop ourselves from falling into this trap? Can we stop ourselves from deviating from the straight path, and losing our way?

With God's help, we can.

Sin is untamable, and should not be underestimated, but Jesus has overcome sin, and has given us the power to conquer sin as well.

Let's wise up to our sins, both great and small, and accept God's merciful forgiveness and Almighty power to banish sin from our lives.

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