What is your unpardonable sin?
“Certain absolutes found within Scripture are so crucial that a Christian should be willing to sacrifice his or her life for them.”
_Thom S. Rainer
On April 17th of this year, the National Basketball Association (NBA) banned Toronto Raptors’ player, Jontay Porter, for life for violating their gambling policies.
Wow! Banned for life.
I was reminded of this recently when I read that Pete Rose died. Long time baseball fans will remember his sad story and how he was banned for life from baseball for gambling.
What both leagues were saying in their extreme action was: There are some issues that are so vital and important to the integrity and survival of each respective league that if they are violated they’re unpardonable.
There are some issues that are so vital and important that if they are violated they’re unpardonable.
In this age when there seems to be nothing outside the bounds of what is acceptable and decent, when it seems that the only ultimate truth is that there is no ultimate truth, isn’t it interesting that eventually, if we hope to survive, there are boundaries that must not be crossed, principles that must not be broken, and deeds that must not be allowed.
Turns out, no matter how tolerant and live-and-let-live you are there really are right and wrong, life and death issues. Some things, while doable, are unpardonable.
And that leads me to what I really want us to think about today…
What is your unpardonable list?
Tony Iommi, the lead guitarist for the heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, in his autobiography wrote, “I actually do believe in a God, but I don’t go to church to press the point.”
That sums up the spirit of our age.
But there are some things so important, so vital, so essential, that you’d better press the point if you hope to survive and succeed.
Or as I heard one man say, “Most people do not intentionally march into hell, they simply fall asleep on the slippery slope and slide in.”
Its time to wake up and be very clear on where the boundaries are in your life: the places you will not go, the deeds you will not do, and the beliefs you will not compromise on.
The ONE THING for today: There are very few hills worth dying on, but there are some. To not know which they are means you will die the slow death of a 1000 compromises until finally, you have nothing worth living or dying for.
Photo by remy fouassier on Unsplash
