Mark Atteberry wrote the book, The 10 Dumbest Things Christians Do, to help Christians watch out for things we do, most of the time inadvertently, which cause Satan to rejoice and God to hurt. We have looked at the idea that we sometimes sling mud on the bride of Christ and then examined the fact that sometimes we try to encourage people to convert to the church, not the Lord.

Another trap Satan enjoys watching Christians fall into is the fact that we often live below the level of our calling. The idea Atteberry presents here is that Christians sin, even though they know that by so doing they are hurting their Lord, their families and themselves.

John talks about the fact in 1 John 5:18 that, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him” (NKJV). There has been a great debate among so many that question John and wonder if he really meant that the child of God does not sin. We find the answer earlier in the book when he stated that, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8–10, NKJV). So, even John knows that Christians will sin, and when we sin, we have Jesus as our Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1–2). John is talking about a Christian continually practicing sin, not the mistakes we make when we give into temptation.

The idea of practicing sin is what is being discussed when we talk about living below our calling. It is knowing that something is a sin, yet engaging in it anyway. I have heard of Christians who say, “Well, I know that this is wrong, yet I will do this anyway. Besides, God will forgive me.” Such an attitude presumes upon the grace of God, and is showing great disrespect and even daring God to do something when they engage in sin. Further, the idea is that I will continue to engage in that sin, because I know that God will continue to forgive me.

This attitude causes us to think we are better than everyone else and that we ourselves cannot sin against God. We get so wrapped up in the sin we may not even see it as sin anymore, and Lord help the preacher or well meaning Christian that has the audacity to challenge the lifestyle I am living. When unbelievers see a Christian engage in a sin—in something that know to be a sin—and then the “Christian” tells them how to live or what to do, is it any wonder so many think that the church is made up of hypocrites and they would never set foot in such a place?

Christians need to live to the level of their calling. It is time we see sin once again as God sees it, and stop playing around with it in anyway. Secondly, we need to live closer to the Lord on a daily basis, so we can see what sin is doing to us and to our relationship with Him. It is time that we stop letting the world set our standards—it is time we live up to His standards as found in His word! May God help us all to live to the level of His calling.