Scales of Justice

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Make a mental list of sins beginning with the one you consider the vilest. Why do you think the number one sin you listed is worse than any other? Is there a sin viler than others?

Paul lists three virtues in the focal passage: faith, hope, and charity (love). As he pens this letter under the Holy Spirit's leadership, he ends verse thirteen with love as the greatest of the three. Hmm, charity is listed last, yet noted as the greatest—just food for thought.

In Proverbs 6:16–19, the author writes that God hates six things, and seven are an abomination to Him. Though not an exhaustive list of evils, they are written in this order: a proud look, liars, people who kill the innocent, a heart that creates wicked plans, people eager to do evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and people who sow discord among friends.

Though we tend to rate sins in order of how awful they seem, sin is sin. Interestingly, lying is listed twice in these verses, and stirring up trouble is last. But whether we believe one evil outweighs another, the truth of the matter is anything contrary to God's Word is an offense, and all unrighteousness is offensive to God. Because another person's sin is different from yours does not make it more horrible than yours. God alone is the righteous Judge. If He weighs offenses, the scales of justice in His hand has Jesus on one side, and each of us on the other. The scale will never tip in our favor: all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23).