The top sin rankings

What is the worst sin that a human could commit? Is it murder? Armed robbery? Defilement? Or maybe for you, it's fraud? Embezzlement?

Misappropriation of funds? What are the crimes or offenses you just cannot forgive? And what do you think should be done to those who commit them? Or maybe for you there isn't one answer to this question.

Perhaps you have a top ten list. A Top Sin Ranking of unpardonable iniquities, each one recorded with a catalogue of instances and examples, to justify their inclusion in your list.

Well, whether you have a list, or one single favourite, the important thing to note is that we each have our personal code of ethics and we always take it personal when someone violates our code without punishment.

For those of you who are Christians, what does the Bible consider to be the worst sin? Is there any sin you can point to as the all-time worst? The one sin that even God has a hard time forgiving? Any suggestions? None? Ah.

Maybe it's because there is no such thing as the greatest sin. If you are Christian, then you ought to know that all sin separates us from God, and He certainly does not weight one sin to be more grievous than another.

But as is the case with every human activity, we have brought our own personalities to bear on our beliefs. The things which we consider to be the most unpardonable acts according to our own moral code, then become our religion's most unforgivable sins.

If you have ever been robbed at gunpoint, you will be the first in line to vote for armed robbers to receive the death penalty. If your child has been defiled, then you would support calls for child molesters to be castrated.

Your personal experiences as the victim of a crime will always inform your views on its punishment. This is easy to understand. If it affects you and you have been a victim before, you are more likely to undergo strong emotions whenever you encounter a perpetrator, or whenever the issue is up for discussion.

There is however one thing which seems to elicit the most violent reactions from majority of people in this part of the world. One act which is completely unacceptable in our society - one act, which if caught doing, will probably result in your death at the hands of an angry mob, is homosexuality.

Now let me state here, before I even utter another word, that this message is not to in any way, promote homosexuality (in fact, the whole idea that sexual preference can somehow be "promoted" is rather new to me… but that's beside the point).

Also, many of the common acts of homosexuality fall under "Unnatural Carnal Knowledge", which is a criminal offence in our country. So once again, before I even continue, I wish to state that I do not the condone the commission of any crime whatsoever, by anyone at anytime. Ok, let's move on.

Last week, a group of secondary school children were bent on murdering two of their own friends who were accused of performing homosexual acts. A large mob of these kids stormed their tutors' flats to demand their two school mates were handed over for a sure lynching.

The mob was fuelled by a pure, uncontrollable white-hot hatred for these two boys and what they represented, but my question is, how many of the kids in that mob have been victims of homosexuality? Can a person be a victim of homosexuality? Granted, you could be raped by a homosexual, but that makes you a victim of rape, not homosexuality.

So where from the hatred and intolerance that drove those kids to the threshold of murder?

As a people, we really are rather quick to judge others, aren't we? We are experts at pointing out where others have gone wrong, and it is perhaps our desire to point out other people's flaws that is the root cause of the SPACO riots.

Yes, rape victims hate rapists, But who hates gay people? Again, I am not promoting gayness here, I am merely asking, why do we hate them so much? Is their sin greater than the lies we tell? Is their iniquity less forgiveable than the money these public official steal from us? Is their gayness worse than your bribe-taking? Will their sexual acts land them in hell faster than your cheating will? The Bible says no one sin is greater than another, and God knows we have all sinned, so why do we hate theirs so much?

My friends, we have all fallen short of the Lord's glory, so my suggestion is that we save the energy we spend on intolerance, and apply it to repentance.

Let us work out our own salvation with fear and trembling before we go working out the salvation of others around us, ok? My name is Kojo Yankson, and I am not without sin, so I cast no stones.