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Key Bible Verse: The person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as the person who has broken all of God's laws (James 2:10). Bonus Reading: Hebrews 4:12-13

Ranking, categorizing, and grading evil acts on a curve is a necessary part of a civil society. Human law is colored with shades of gray. But God's law is different. It's black-and-white, all or nothing. No jury, no pleading for leniency, no throwing yourself on the mercy of the court. It's one strike, you're out. Either you're a sinner or you're not. If you've ever broken even the smallest of his laws, you're a sinner. As hard as it may be to fathom, murder and a little white lie are one and the same to him. They're both against his law.

I once ran across a young woman who insisted that God is concerned with the big picture, doesn't get involved with the details of our lives, and consequently pays little attention to trivial offenses. I wanted to argue that God is in the details. If God counts and numbers hairs on my head, he's certainly a detail kind of guy. No one can escape God's gaze. He sees everything, large and small.

I don't know about you, but standing naked before God at all times (Hebrews 4:13) is an intimidating thought. And who's to say what is trivial? Human law may recognize trivial offenses, but not God. Everything is trivial, and everything is critical.

—David Rich in 7 Biblical Truths You Won't Hear in Church

My Response: How has my thinking been influenced by the judicial differentiation of felonies and misdemeanors?

Adapted from 7 Biblical Truths You Won't Hear in Church (Harvest, 2006) by permission.

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Prayer for the Week

Intensify my grasp of your holiness this week so that I can begin to comprehend the cost of sacrificing your Son.

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