Respectable Sins: Registering Our Complaints

In the third chapter of Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges discusses "the malignancy of sin." He compares sin to a cancer that spreads deep and wide if not treated. For example, Bridges gives an example of how easily sin spreads through our speech:

If I gossip, I both tear down another person and corrupt the mind of my listener. If I complain about the difficult circumstances of my life, I impugn the sovereignty and goodness of God and tempt my listener to do the same. In this way, my sin "metastasizes" into the heart of another person. (p.24)

This is an example of a "respectable sin." It is so easy, and so culturally acceptable, to complain. Yet this sin, like all others, brings with it serious consequences. Not only may we demonstrate ingratitude, but unthankfulness can very quickly lead to other "less respectable" sins.

Think about it: When we allow ourselves to think that our circumstances are an exception to the rule, that we deserve a break, and that God isn't fair, what kind of actions tend to flow from this?

Yet we also need to remember how important it is to be honest with others. If we feel ingratitude in our hearts but "grin and bear it" and try to put on a happy face to others, this leads to a different kind of sin -- we are unreal, inauthentic, dishonest. The only solution, therefore, is to get at the root of sin -- and yank it out!

But how?

And that's where the next chapter comes in...