The term "sordid" is often used to describe actions, motives, or conditions that are morally ignoble or base. In a biblical context, it refers to behaviors and attitudes that are contrary to the holiness and righteousness that God desires for His people. The Bible, while not using the word "sordid" directly in most translations, addresses the concept through various teachings and narratives that highlight the contrast between godly and ungodly living.

Biblical References and Themes

1. Moral Corruption and Sin: The Bible frequently addresses the issue of moral corruption, which can be considered synonymous with sordid behavior. In Romans 1:29-31 , Paul lists a series of sinful behaviors that characterize a life apart from God: "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless."

2. Greed and Selfishness: Sordidness often manifests in greed and selfishness, which are condemned throughout Scripture. In 1 Timothy 6:10 , Paul warns, "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." This passage highlights how sordid desires can lead individuals away from faith and into spiritual ruin.

3. Impurity and Lust: The Bible also addresses sordidness in terms of sexual immorality and impurity. In Ephesians 5:3 , Paul exhorts believers, "But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed." This call to purity underscores the importance of living a life that reflects God's holiness.

4. Deceit and Dishonesty: Sordid behavior often involves deceit and dishonesty, which are strongly condemned in Scripture. Proverbs 6:16-19 lists things the Lord hates, including "a lying tongue" and "a heart that devises wicked schemes." These behaviors are antithetical to the truth and integrity that God desires.

5. Call to Holiness: The Bible consistently calls believers to reject sordidness and pursue holiness. In 1 Peter 1:15-16 , Peter writes, "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" This call to holiness is a central theme in Scripture, urging believers to live lives that honor God.

Examples from Biblical Narratives

· The Story of Achan: In Joshua 7, Achan's sordid act of taking forbidden items during the conquest of Jericho leads to Israel's defeat at Ai. His greed and disobedience result in severe consequences for himself and the community, illustrating the destructive nature of sordid behavior.

· Ananias and Sapphira: In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira's deceitful attempt to lie to the Holy Spirit about the proceeds from a land sale results in their sudden deaths. Their account serves as a stark warning against the dangers of dishonesty and hypocrisy within the church.

Practical Application

Believers are called to examine their lives for any traces of sordidness and to seek God's help in cultivating purity, integrity, and righteousness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians are empowered to overcome sordid desires and live in a manner that reflects the character of Christ.1. (a.) Filthy, foul, or dirty in character or nature; as, vulgar, sordid mortals.

2. (a.) Vile; base; gross; mean.

3. (a.) Meanly avaricious; covetous; stingy.

146. aischrokerdes -- greedy of base gain
... Word Origin from aischros and kerdos Definition greedy of base gain NASB Word Usage
fond of sordid gain (2), sordid gain (2). greedy, given to filthy lucre. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/146.htm - 6k

150. aischros -- shameful
... disgraceful. Word Origin from the same as aischuno Definition shameful NASB
Word Usage disgraceful (2), improper (1), sordid (1). filthy. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/150.htm - 6k

147. aischrokerdos -- from eagerness for base gain
... Word Origin adverb from aischrokerdes Definition from eagerness for base gain
NASB Word Usage sordid gain (1). for the sake of dishonest gain. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/147.htm - 6k

6937. qadar -- to be dark
... A primitive root; to be ashy, ie Dark-colored; by implication, to mourn (in sackcloth
or sordid garments) -- be black(-ish), be (make) dark(-en), X heavily ...
/hebrew/6937.htm - 6k

And they who Keep the Commandment Ought to Keep it Without any ...
... Canon X. And they who keep the commandment ought to keep it without any
sordid covetousness? And they who keep the commandment ...
/.../thaumaturgus/canonical epistle of gregory thaumaturgus/canon x and they who.htm

Profit and Loss
... They sing just as we have been singing". "Jewels to thee are gaudy toys,.
And gold is sordid dust.". And so they are compared with ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/profit and loss.htm

Ancient Civilisation {5} {6}
... instead of sinking to the mere selfish standard which judges all things, even those
of the world to come, by profit and by loss, and into that sordid frame of ...
/.../kingsley/historical lectures and essays/ancient civilisation 5 6.htm

Ancient Civilisation.
... instead of sinking to the mere selfish standard which judges all things, even those
of the world to come, by profit and by loss, and into that sordid frame of ...
/.../lectures delivered in america in 1874/lecture v ancient civilisation.htm

Conclusion. Clue to the Error of the Jews.
... [1461] First, He was clad in "sordid attire," that is, in the indignity of passible
and mortal flesh, when the devil, withal, was opposing himself to Him"the ...
/.../tertullian/an answer to the jews/chapter xiv conclusion clue to the.htm

How one Should Resist Temptations and Bear Trials
... Even if they are blasphemies and sordid, hold firmly on to this fact in everything,
that you can do nothing better or more effective against them than to ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/albert/on cleaving to god/chapter 11 how one should.htm

Sunday after Ascension Day
... in this vice, until the bodies and lives of her people, as well as their property
and honor, are shamefully consumed and only a sordid existence remains. ...
/.../luther/epistle sermons vol ii/sunday after ascension day.htm

Of Flattery.
... Tis indeed a Collective, accumulative Baseness, its being in its Elements a compound
and a complex of the most sordid, hateful qualities incident to Mankind. ...
/.../allestree/the government of the tongue/section viii of flattery.htm

The Traitor
... it comes that religion without devotion is the mockery of honest worldlings; that
hypocrisy goes so constantly with the meanest and most sordid lust of gain ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 14 10-16 the traitor.htm

Felicitous Phrases
... mean, pitiful, and sordid. meek, humane, and temperate. ... new, strange, and unusual.
stingy, sordid, and parsimonious [grudging, wretched and frugal]. ...
/.../kleiser/fifteen thousand useful phrases/section iii felicitous phrases.htm

Sordid (4 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Filthy, foul, or dirty in character or nature;
as, vulgar, sordid mortals. ... Multi-Version Concordance Sordid (4 Occurrences). ...
/s/sordid.htm - 7k

Iscariot (11 Occurrences)
... ostensibly one of the faithful. Personal motives of a sordid nature had also
influence in causing him to remain. Appointed keeper of the ...
/i/iscariot.htm - 25k

Sorcery (10 Occurrences)

/s/sorcery.htm - 10k

Judas (42 Occurrences)
... ostensibly one of the faithful. Personal motives of a sordid nature had also
influence in causing him to remain. Appointed keeper of the ...
/j/judas.htm - 45k

Jephthah (26 Occurrences)
... The father's sorrow and the courage of the daughter are the only bright lights on
this sordid, cruel conception of God and of the nature of sacrifice. ...
/j/jephthah.htm - 20k

Dirty (9 Occurrences)
... dirty white. 2. (superl.) Sullied; clouded; -- applied to color. 3. (superl.)
Sordid; base; groveling; as, a dirty fellow. 4. (superl ...
/d/dirty.htm - 9k

Miserly (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (a.) Like a miser; very covetous; sordid; stingy.
Multi-Version Concordance Miserly (1 Occurrence). ...
/m/miserly.htm - 6k

Sore (156 Occurrences)

/s/sore.htm - 40k

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