Does God Really Care About Little Sins?
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Is there such a thing as a “little sin”?
What if you tell a little white lie?
What if a four-letter word slips out every once in a while?
What if you watch a movie you know probably isn’t good for your spirit—but tell yourself, “It’s not that bad”?
What if you laugh at the dirty joke instead of walking away?
Surely God has bigger things to worry about, right?
After all, we’re not murdering anyone. We’re not stealing. We’re not living in some obvious pattern of rebellion.
We’re just making little compromises.
But there’s a fascinating story in 2 Kings 10 that forces us to ask a much more uncomfortable question:
What if the “little thing” is the very thing God is asking us to surrender?
God doesn’t measure sin the way we do.
We tend to categorize sin.
Big sins.
Little sins.
Serious sins.
Harmless sins.
But Scripture doesn’t give us permission to decide that a sin is insignificant simply because it seems insignificant to us.
The question isn’t merely, “How bad is this?”
The better question is:
“What is God asking me to surrender?”
Jehu Obeyed God…Almost
We see the danger of little sin in 2 Kings 10.
Jehu was anointed king by God over Israel. God chose him over the present king, Joram, who was a descendant of Ahab and who behaved wickedly.
God’s plan was for Jezebel and all of the descendants of Ahab to be wiped from the face of the earth, and that is exactly what Jehu set out to do.
And he accomplished it.
He also cleansed the land of the worship of Baal, killing all worshipers of Baal, putting an end to the temple sacrifices, and burning the pillars.
And this was pleasing to God.
God is a jealous God; He is jealous for our worship, and when we allow idolatry in our land – or even in our heart…just a little – He burns with white-hot jealousy because worship is to be reserved for Him and Him alone.
The One Thing Jehu Wouldn’t Give Up
Jehu left out one little thing…and it cost him and the whole land of Israel.
“However, Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebar, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. And the Lord said to Jehu, ‘Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.’ But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam who had made Israel sin. In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel…” 2 Kings 10:29-32
God rewarded Jehu for destroying the house of Ahab and purging Israel of Baal worship. He let his reign over the land of Israel span for 4 generations.
That is a very long time!
But while Jehu did this incredible thing for God, there was a part of his heart he refused to surrender. Perhaps he thought it was a small thing…that God would overlook it because of the other great things he’d done for Him.
But that small thing – worshiping the golden calves – cost him.
God began allowing parts of Israel to be defeated by Syria – Israel’s enemy.
What Is Your Golden Calf?
We may read Jehu’s story and think, “How could he do that?”
How could he see God’s power, experience God’s calling, and obey God in such dramatic ways, and still hold on to the golden calves?
And then we realize:
We do the same thing.
We obey God in many areas.
- We go to church.
- We read our Bibles.
- We pray.
- We serve.
- We give.
- We encourage other people.
- We may even teach God’s Word.
And yet there may be one thing we know God has asked us to surrender that we keep defending.
✔️ Maybe it’s the language we use when we’re angry.
✔️ Maybe it’s the “harmless” entertainment we know continually feeds something unhealthy in our hearts.
✔️ Maybe it’s gossip disguised as concern.
✔️ Maybe it’s a relationship we know isn’t honoring God.
✔️ Maybe it’s dishonesty that we call “protecting someone’s feelings.”
✔️ Maybe it’s bitterness we’ve justified because we’ve been hurt.
✔️ Maybe it’s something no one else even knows about.
But God knows.
There Is a Difference Between Falling and Refusing to Get Up
Of course, there is a difference between stumbling into sin and deliberately making peace with sin.
Sometimes we sin without realizing what we’ve done. The Holy Spirit brings conviction; we recognize it, repent, and turn around.
That’s very different from knowing something is wrong and saying:
“I know God doesn’t want me to do this, but I don’t care. I’m going to keep doing it.”
Hebrews 10 gives us a sobering warning about willful, persistent sin after knowing the truth.
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins…”
—Hebrews 10:26
All sin is very serious and angers God, because it shows that we don’t take the sacrifice of Jesus Christ seriously.
But we must also remember, there is a distinction between falling into sin and walking in sin.
One is a moment; the other is a lifestyle.
Obedience in One Area Doesn’t Excuse Disobedience in Another
God acknowledged Jehu’s obedience.
But Jehu’s obedience in one area didn’t make his disobedience in another area acceptable.
He couldn’t say:
“Look at everything I’ve done for God. Surely He won’t care about this one thing.”
And neither can we.
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin. n those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel
Sin always has consequences, even when those consequences aren’t immediately visible.
Sometimes those consequences affect our relationships.
Sometimes our witness or our peace.
Sometimes our spiritual sensitivity.
And sometimes Scripture shows us consequences that extend beyond the individual.
This Isn’t About Living in Fear
The point isn’t that we should walk around terrified that God is angry every time we stumble.
The gospel is not:
“Be perfect, or God will reject you.”
Jesus already did what we could never do for ourselves.
We don’t obey God so that He will love us.
We obey because He already loves us.
Grace doesn’t make sin unimportant.
Grace makes obedience possible.
When the Holy Spirit puts His finger on something in our lives, we don’t have to hide.
We don’t have to defend it.
We don’t have to minimize it.
We can simply say:
“Lord, You’re right. I surrender this to You.”
What Are You Still Holding On To?
Maybe today isn’t about identifying all the things you’re doing wrong.
Maybe it’s about asking God one simple question:
“Lord, is there anything I’m holding on to that You are asking me to surrender?”
Don’t ask Him so you can condemn yourself.
Ask because you want to walk freely with Him.
Ask because you want your heart to be completely His.
Ask because sometimes the thing we call “small” is the very thing God is inviting us to lay down.
You don’t have to hold on to it.
You can surrender it today.
P.S. If the Holy Spirit brings something to mind as you read this, don’t rush past it. Take a few minutes today to pray about it. Sometimes spiritual growth begins with simply being willing to say, “Lord, You can have this, too.”
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