LRC, Houston - the weekends-free church in Houston, Texas

Lists and more lists. We begin in the Old Testament with Ten Commandments. Shortly thereafter the religious leaders come up with 613 laws. And, we’ve not stopped in 3,000 years, of coming up with more and more laws that will ultimately be broken. Objective list(s) of sins, while Jesus said we could just boil it all down to two subjective principles: love God, love your neighbor. Sounds too simple now doesn’t it.

Roman Catholicism likes to break all the sins into two wide-sweeping categories. There are the venial sins (meaning forgivable- lesser sins) that do not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell as compared to mortal sins. A venial sin involves only a “temporary loss of grace” from God while mortal is, well, deadly!

At the top of the list(s) is what should rightly be: PRIDE!

It is otherwise known as the “root of all sin“. In some ways I could just stop here for in the way I “define pride” simply means separation from God- which is all the sin that there really is. Pride is a going it alone, doing it “my way“, and building a personal Kingdom instead of God’s Kingdom. It is the mistaken belief that what I want should be sought in all cases.

And of course “how” I want it to call come down as well; for it really is all about ME!

Such self-centredness attempts to put us on our throne instead of recognizing the Creator and His throne. Is there any question as to why the first two commandments are about NOT putting anything before God, not making an idol out of anything: which would include our perceptions about what we want to be when we grow up?

The church would look far better in the eyes of the world, and God, if it laid down creating and then trying to enforce more and more moral codes and simply made UNION and COMMUNION with God it’s primary goal. Show people HOW to meditate, enter into contemplation, and walk with God throughout the day.

Know it or know, do it or not, we are ONE WITH GOD!