{"id":98517,"date":"2026-10-16T17:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T22:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=98517"},"modified":"2026-10-16T17:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T22:41:12","slug":"can-something-be-gross-but-not-sinful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-something-be-gross-but-not-sinful\/","title":{"rendered":"Can something be gross but not sinful?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>Hello Mr. Hamilton,<\/p>\n<p>I have a question for you about a debate with someone about doing something crazy and reckless versus something sinful. This is very crazy, and I know you answer a lot of questions, so you have heard a lot of crazy stories, but this is extremely crazy. I&#8217;m sorry this is a little gross, but I need your wisdom on this.<\/p>\n<p>For privacy, I will call these two people Bob and Steve. Bob and Steve were at a party. Bob and Steve like to do crazy acts they think are fun, sometimes jumping off buildings and doing really crazy things and vlogging it. One day Steve was drinking, and for some odd reason that is extremely unknown, Steve and Bob thought it would be funny to film themselves with Steve purposely getting sick on Bob (I warned you this was gross). So they did it and even recorded it.<\/p>\nI told Bob and Steve that what they did was wrong and extremely gross, and even sinful. Bob argues that it is just a prank, and that it was just for fun, and that it may be gross and unsanitary, but that&#8217;s different from being sinful. Bob also argues that we&#8217;re not supposed to add rules that aren&#8217;t there. He says that they didn&#8217;t do anything wrong. So is Bob right, or am I right? Is what they&#8217;re doing sinful, or just extremely weird and gross, but not sinful?\n<p>Thank you for taking the time to answer this; I know that this is really out there. I just needed your wisdom.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>People tend not to see their own actions as sinful (Proverbs 12:15). Your two friends got drunk, and drunkenness is clearly condemned in the Bible. &#8220;<em>Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts<\/em>&#8221; (Romans 13:13-14). In addition, they are not treating each other with respect. &#8220;<em>In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets<\/em>&#8221; (Matthew 7:12). This is not a suggestion; it is God&#8217;s command.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<em>I said to myself, &#8216;Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself.&#8217; And behold, it too was futility. I said of laughter, &#8216;It is madness,&#8217; and of pleasure, &#8216;What does it accomplish?&#8217; I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives. &#8230;\u00a0Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun<\/em>&#8221; (Ecclesiastes 2:1-3, 11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Your friends have decided that being fools is fun. But it is worthless because it does not last, and it accomplishes nothing. &#8220;<em>The wise will inherit honor, but fools display dishonor<\/em>&#8221; (Proverbs 3:35). As Solomon notes, you are best off finding better friends. &#8220;<em>Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge<\/em>&#8221; (Proverbs 14:7).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: Hello Mr. Hamilton, I have a question for you about a debate with someone about doing something crazy and reckless versus something sinful. This is very crazy, and I know you answer a lot of questions, so you have heard a lot of crazy stories, but this is extremely crazy. I&#8217;m sorry this is&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[65,1392,179],"class_list":["post-98517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-love","tag-neighbors","tag-sin"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":31874,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-support-conscientious-objection\/","url_meta":{"origin":98517,"position":0},"title":"Do you support conscientious objection?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you or your church support selective conscientious objection and conscientious objection? Answer: Registering for the draft is a government law that does not violate any teaching of God. \"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1296,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-are-boy-girl-relationships-not-advisable-at-a-young-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":98517,"position":1},"title":"Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why are boy-girl relationships not advisable at a young age Answer: Youth is a time of impatient desires. They want the things available to adults, but adulthood seems so far away. The typical teenage boy enters puberty around the age of 11. The typical teenage girl enters puberty around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-lost-the-surprise-somewhere\/","url_meta":{"origin":98517,"position":2},"title":"We Lost the Surprise Somewhere","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I remember watching Mayberry RFD and related shows most of my childhood. Poor ignorant Gomer Pyle who worked as an auto mechanic was a notable character. But I can still recall my shock when I found out that Jim Nabors, who played Gomer, could sing --\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Gomer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":32196,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-sin-to-take-out-insurance\/","url_meta":{"origin":98517,"position":3},"title":"Is it a sin to take out insurance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it a sin to take out medical insurance or legal insurance? Are we rather expected to put our faith in the Lord to take care of those things? Answer: We were taught to pray, \"Give us this day our daily bread\" (Matthew 6:11), but God still commands us\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61889,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-book-of-my-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":98517,"position":4},"title":"The Book of My Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Job 19:23-27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each week the paper publishes its list of top selling books \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes the books are biographies, fictional stories, or fiction placed in historical settings. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They hope that others will also purchase the books, if for no other reason than curiosity. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many author\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6988,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-there-passages-that-refer-to-the-lords-supper\/","url_meta":{"origin":98517,"position":5},"title":"Are there passages that refer to THE Lord&#8217;s Supper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have been studying the Lord's supper issues and one of our main concerns is about a second offering in which only a few partake, for the reasons you listed in your article (not doing it together). We have been questioning the idea of everyone taking it a second\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98517"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98520,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98517\/revisions\/98520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}