Victimless Sin?

There is no such thing as a victimless sin.

There it is.  I said it.  For most people, this teaching is difficult to understand.  I certainly struggled to come to grips with the concept.  When I first started reading the Bible, I was surprised to discover how many of my behaviors were wrong in God’s eyes.  My automatic reaction was to rationalize and/or dismiss what I was reading.  This response was, in part, because I had never read those scriptures before, but it was also because I didn’t want to change my behavior.

Over time, however, I began to see that the behavior that I believed to be harmless was actually sinful.

Here are a couple of thoughts that may help illuminate my point:

 

  • God gives us commands for our own good as well as the good of others.

 

“Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.”

-Deuteronomy 4:40

 

 “…what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?”

- Deuteronomy 10:12-13

 

  • When I sin, it changes me; I move a little further away from being the person that God intended. My ability to help those around me to know God is reduced as I become less and less like Jesus.

 

A hateful thought that is nurtured makes me a little meaner. 

A judgmental or self-righteous attitude that goes unchecked makes me more prideful.  

Failure to address anger/hurt in a relationship, will lead to bitterness.  By harboring bitterness, I set in motion a process that is extremely difficult to reverse. Hardening my heart may temporarily minimize pain, but it will also destroy my ability to experience love.  

When we use drugs, alcohol, food, internet, or TV (and the like) to escape, we are attempting to fill a void or comfort ourselves with something other than God. These God-substitutes may provide a temporary fix, but they will ultimately leave us empty.

God wants the best for us.  ‘Victimless’ sin, like all sin, leads us away from God.