Sins of Omission

Thanksgiving Day I was reading through James 4. The chapter is a warning against worldliness. This passage is one I have read, studied, and taught from numerous times, yet one verse on Thursday really jumped out at me.

"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin," (James 4:17, ESV).

We tend to think of sin in terms of what we do rather than what we don't do. We need to ask the Lord to search our hearts to see what is it that we are not doing, yet should be, that places us in a disobedient posture.

Here are a few things that are not so obvious that we should consider sin when we don't do them, but do we?

• failing to spend time with our family.
• not exercising or eating properly
• neglecting fellowship with other believers & corporate worship
• neglecting to exercise patience
• neglecting making love to your spouse
• not putting in an honest day's work
• failing to witness to those God brings into our lives.
• not (for men) leading our families spiritually
• failing to (for women) submit to your husband's leadership
• not speaking truth in love
• not praising your spouse & children
• not disciplining your children
• not giving cheerfully
• neglecting ministry to the least, the last and the lost
• failing to take care of elderly parents
• failing to exercise spiritual gift

Certainly that isn't an exhaustive list, it could go on and on. I don't say this to be legalistic, rather I want to challenge us to be better doers of the word (James 1:23).