Oh, most of us have not robbed banks or assaulted our loved ones or murdered anyone or dealt drugs. Folks who made those choices are fully aware of their errors.
But "small sins" and sins of omission can offer a temptation to pretend they do not count since "everyone else is so much worse." But here is the truth: when we compare the level of temptation we face, the reality is often hard to bare. You see, I've not been seriously tempted to rob a bank, cold-cock a family member, murdering anyone or deal drugs. But I am often tempted to skip doing a kindness to another if it is inconvenient. I am often tempted to spend money on something not of eternal importance while being afraid to give generously to the work of the Church Eternal. Or, equally dangerous, I am tempted to make contributions for the purpose of looking good rather than doing good.
Ah, you say, but is all that all that bad? It may not be "bad" in the eyes of the world, but each of those temptations are actually the same temptation as the big ones, just tailored to fit my capacity to resist. After all, if I can not avoid small instances of being disrespectful of God and demonstrating a lack of trust in God in small things, then given a different life, a different set of parents, or a lack of moral training (which may be a contributing factor for some felons), then I have to ask, in all honesty, how would I have fared in a life where "bigger" sins were a daily temptation?
And, don't I face a particular temptation to justify "smaller sins" and "sins omission" in ways that separate me from God? Isn't that a slippery slope for me so my relationship with God erodes, corrodes and diminishes until I am consumed by self-righteousness?
So I praise God and thank God that "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.*"
So as my grandmother might have said, I must "Shame the devil and tell the truth." I must never be proud of my ability to avoid "big sins" because the "small sins" shout the truth about my intrinsic worth. My value is because of God's great faithfulness alone. And that is amazing and wonderful.
*Lamentations 3:22-23