Sin and the Knowledge of God

I beleive that these two elements are completely intertwined. That is to say that the more or less that we know of and about God the more or less we will tend towards sin. How are they so connected, you ask? I am discovering more and more that many common and difficult sins are a result of not recognizing who God is, specifically in relation to His trustworthiness.

I was recently amazed at how many sins can often stem from a lack of trusting God, the list is longer than I care to document, but here are a few: Worry, impatience, depression, OCD, fear, etc. Though these sins do not alway stem from lack of trusting God, those of us who struggle with them must come to a realization that at the heart of the problem there may be a problem of the heart. Lack of trusting God, because we do not know who He is, can lead to all sorts of sins, addictions, compulsions, and fears. Elyse Fitzpatrick has wisely written:

The only way to have a life that is like a lush tree by a river [a life of growth, safety, and joy] is to trust in God. It seems to me that my greatest struggle is learning to trust in Him. It's not that I don't trust Him for certain things- like my eternal home with Him; its just that when it comes down to my everyday life, I frequently act as though I can handle difficult circumstances better than He can.

What observation she offers to us. Trusting God will help us all in the struggle against certain sins, and knowing more about Him will help us to trust Him. To that end, over the next week I will be posting on different attributes of God's character in hopes that through this study we can all learn just how trustworthy and faithful is our God.

"Our God is in the Heavens; He does all that He pleases" (Psalm 115:3)