Fuzzy, Gray Sin

“‘Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” and behold, the log is in your own eye?’” Matthew 7:4, NASB.

In a run-down building run by a run-down man a discussion transpired that illustrates the uncertainty of Islam. With deep set eyes in a deeply-wrinkled dark face, Bacho* created a lasting impression, National Geographic material. He’s been a fixture in the community for decades. Bacho loved to reflect on the way things used to be. He sat at the table with another man from the community named Nas. Nas was asking Bacho how he could allow gambling in one of his rental properties.

Bacho shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s just $5 to $10 a round for the old timers. Otherwise they would just sit around and be bored. Besides, it’s no sin to me, because I didn’t organize it.”

Nas wasn’t buying it. As far as he was concerned gambling was wrong, and Bacho doing nothing to stop it on his own property made him guilty of sin. However, levels of guilt vary. According to Nas there are some sins that don’t elicit an immediate response from God; things such as telling lies, not keeping the fast or not praying. Those sins will be faced on the Day of Judgment. Other sins bring immediate punishment such as shirik (assigning divinity to one other than God) or fitnah (slander).

About an hour later Nas was discussing the numbers he had picked for the lottery. Perhaps the sin of gambling is not as black and white for him as it was for his friend, Bacho!

* Names changed for security reasons. 
 
Pray that:

Bacho and Nas will come to realize that holiness comes from faith in Christ, not from keeping a set of rules.

This Muslim people group will come to a full realization of the depths of their sin and the hopelessness of earning salvation from God.

Believers living in this area of the Pacific Rim will not grow weary in praying and sharing the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit will prepare this unreached people group to receive the Gospel.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.