When you ask people what sin is, you’ll get a wide range of answers, from murder to forgetting to call your mom on Mother’s Day.

Most of the time, people think of sin as bad behavior. And your bad behaviors often do reveal sin. But the Bible tells us that God pays more attention to our thoughts than our behaviors—because it’s sinful thinking that leads to sinful behavior.

So what is sin? Sin is the opposite of God. The Bible says, “Everything he does is good,” “he is good to everyone and has compassion on all he made,” and “everything that God has created is good” (Psalm 111:7 NCV, Psalm 145:9 GNT, 1 Timothy 4:4 GNT).

Everything God does is good, and everything he created is good. But when we take what God created and use it in bad ways, that is sin.

For example, when you use prescription drugs the right way, they can bring helpful relief. But when you misuse and abuse drugs, something good becomes something harmful. Money is neither good nor bad. It can be used for great good, but it also can be used for incredibly bad things.

God expects you to turn from your sins and start walking faithfully toward him. Part of faith is trusting that God has your best interests in mind. You don’t have to wonder what God is like. The Bible says clearly that he is perfect and does not sin.

While you will never be perfect on earth, you can become more like Jesus. This starts by turning away from sin and making choices every day to pursue what is good and godly.