Misunderstanding, Mistakes, and Sin

Misunderstanding is not being able to correctly understand something. We may misunderstand something because someone’s behavior, words, or actions are unclear, or we fail to pay attention to those things, or because we have prejudice.

Mistakes are violations of recognized rules, regulations, or general principles that are not contrary to the commandments of God.

Sin is a violation of the commandments of God or the laws of the country that do not contradict the law of God.

As God’s people, let us remember the following:

Always be grateful when someone points out our wrongdoings, mistakes, or sins, especially if they do it out of love and respect. Remember, God wants us to be perfect, so He always uses others to help us recognize and fix our shortcomings whether or not we know about them.

Always give thanks to whoever helpfully criticizes us and gives us their suggestions. If the criticism or suggestions are not correct, then we need to calmly give them an explanation about our actions in order to clear up their misunderstanding. If they are correct, then we must apologize and correct our faults immediately.
If someone’s behavior, words, or actions give us the impression that he or she is excessive in their own self-love or arrogance, we must first confirm our understanding of that person instead of making conclusions based on a misunderstanding of that person’s character.
Being angry, uncomfortable, or sad when someone criticizes us or gives us their suggestions, even if their criticisms or suggestions are incorrect or unsound, comes from being excessive in one’s own self-love or arrogance. With this attitude, we despise God for allowing others to correct us or, if those critiques are incorrect, to test us.
The border between a misunderstanding, mistake, and sin is very thin. A misunderstanding can quickly turn into a mistake or a sin. A mistake can also quickly turn into sin if we let ourselves be controlled by excessive self-love or prejudice.