Summer Book Review #10: Respectable Sins

I'm finally finished with this Nook book!!

I am such a slow non-fiction reader!!

In fact, there are still parts I want to re-read...especially the sins that plague me....and we all have them, let's be honest!!  I found the list of "respectable sins" to be so right on!!

How often we think of "sin" as the gross major ones....like adultery, murder, rape, abuse, stealing, idolatry.

BUT.....as human beings, and as Christians.....there are many more...some so subtle that many of us don't even consider them to be sins. Yet they are. According to the Word of God.

This book was excellent.

I won't go into major detail because it would take pages.  The beginning of the book was kind of boring for me...I actually didn't fully enjoy it until I started getting to each individual chapter that covered our "respectable" sins...those sins that even in our Evangelical circles seem to be "accepted" or "tolerated" but which should NOT be!!  And I am guilty of some of them!!

This book made me pause, ponder, pray and repent.  And strive to move on to truly repent...to turn away from the ones I am guilty of on a weekly (or daily!) basis.  Things like irritability.  Selfishness.  Impatience. Frustration (usually at self...but still a sin!!).  Independent spirit (a HUGE one with me...just being honest here folks!!).

According to the author, here is the list of "respectable" sins that are so prevalent in our lives and that, sadly, we have allowed to creep into our homes, churches, souls.

• Ungodliness
• Envy
• Jealousy and related sins
• Selfishness
• Sins of the tongue
• lack of self-control (think of overweight people, eating binges, drinking binges, verbal outbursts,etc)
• Independent spirit
• Pride
• Unthankfulness
• Impatience
• Irritability
• Anger
• Judgmentalism (yes...even against different religions/races/socio-economic levels/different Christian sects/beliefs...we are NOT to judge...we are to love, and pray)
• Discontentment
• Anxiety
• Frustration (YES this is a SIN!!)
• Worldliness (we can be IN the world....but we are not to take on unholiness as a characteristic!)

I was convicted in many of these areas but specifically:  impatience (with my self for not getting this back issue healed up in MY time, with my children or husband at times, with family members or friends at times, with co-workers, with students....); anxiety (when thinking about my back..rather than focusing on the One who made my back and Who is the ultimate Healer); frustration (with my self at being impatient and wanting my physical therapy to hurry up!!) and with selfishness (the feeling that my summer is passing quickly by and I can't do the things I want to do when I want to do them...the waiting for the PT's "go ahead and hike, etc."...or the time I spend with the girls could be time spent on ME...this is sinful thinking!!!)

I challenge you to read through this book. Or at least read the chapters that center on the areas where you struggle or find difficult to overcome.

And pray and seek God while you do so.

It has been free-ing for me!  And I'll continue to repent of these things over and over and bring them to the Lord......He is the Conqueror over these things!!

I highly recommend this book for ages 17 and older.

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10!