I believe that the first and greatest sin is something we, at least Christians, can agree on and it’s what God gave to Moses in the first commandment:
“You shall have no other gods before Me.” [Exodus 20:3]
Jesus explained that command when He said:
“And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].’ The whole Law and the [writings of the] Prophets depend on these two commandments.” [Matthew 22:37-40]
And it’s the second that gets us in sooo much trouble. As Christians we are to put ourselves second, though it can be argued that the world places this as the first and highest priority: ‘what’s in it for me’, ‘what about me’, etc. The point is … we ARE supposed to put ourselves second so we put others in the same category as ourselves. But do we rarely do this? We sometimes get into a ‘Me-ism’ state and feel oooh so deprived or misunderstood or not valued or… (fill in the blank). In this state do we do what scripture says in Matthew – love your neighbor as yourself? Hardly. I would question if we ever give anything or anyone a second thought when all our attention is on us. I’ve also discovered that eyes looking only inward continually bump into people and things or fall or get completely myopic.
From a different perspective, I also believe that’s why pride is such a problem. Pride was the downfall of Satan. And while we may quickly point out that we aren’t trying to be God. Hmmm, then what are we attempting to do? Any and every time we place ourselves as first… what is this saying? Maybe … do you ever say ‘no’ to the Father? Knowing that He wants you to do/be something, recognizing that He is the source of your free will, remembering He never asks you to do something you can’t do or won’t be equipped to accomplish, and that He never sets us up for failure… yet we say – no.
When Jesus expanded on this [Matthew 23] He was indicating what the second greatest sin is, at least from my perspective, loving others as we love ourselves. Bottom line: do you really love those who are your ‘neighbor’/other person? And… as yourself? What do your action say? For some it may be an issue of not really loving ourselves or not knowing what that means. Perhaps we’re caught up in blame or unworthiness, maybe we feel shame. Is this something that’s current or in your history? In a way the time isn’t relevant – the only real question is.. have you sought forgiveness and do you feel sorry? If so, if you’ve acted on 1 John 1:9 and, if so, then walk free knowing He has cleansed you. But also know you can’t use the former as an excuse.
Love is listed as the highest, best way by Paul in 1 Corinthians when he says he will show you/us a better way. Love is that better way. What kind of satisfaction do you get from not forgiving others, or revenge, or holding a grudge? You are the only participant in this – you are the one carrying the baggage. And how can you be expecting to be forgiven for what you do or say, or don’t do/say? Why would the Lord forgive you when you won’t forgive others?
The First greatest Sin is putting anything above God. Have you ever thought that not loving your neighbor is putting this above Him? His Word says – Love. Period.
