http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201:13-15&version=NIV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Peter%202:19&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Heb%2012:1&version=NIV1984
Beth and I pulled into the parking lot at church early this past Sunday like we always do. As we did so I noticed a senior citizen walking by. They were just past the parking lot walking on the sidewalk so I couldn’t tell if they were a man or a woman. Whoever it was had on a winter coat with a hood pulled over their head. They also had both hands on their walker as they proceeded slowly down the street. If that was all that I had seen I probably wouldn’t have given it a second thought. It is not uncommon to see senior citizens using walkers. Especially in our neighborhood. There are 4 senior citizen’s apartments within 3 blocks of our church. And the Senior Citizen’s Center is kitty-corner.
What really caught my attention was that I noticed some vapor around their head. At first I thought it was their breath. After all, it was pretty cold. But upon closer inspection I realized that it was smoke. Sure enough I caught a glimpse of a cigarette in their mouth. So here they were, going down the street, walking behind their walker, puffing on a cigarette. And I mean puffing. I don’t think I have ever seen that much smoke come from a single cigarette. The irony is that they were walking away from the church. Somehow it was fitting.
What a sad sight that was. Someone who could barely walk, who had to have both hands on their walker, addicted to cigarettes so badly that they had to have one perched between their lips. I vacillated between feeling pity for them and disgust. After all these years they still hadn’t got victory over a bad habit. It just goes to show that old age is not necessarily a guarantee of wisdom.
Sadly, scenes such as this are on display every day in our culture. People who are caught in the throes of all kinds of habits and/or addictions. Gambling. Alcohol. Smoking. Drugs. Sex. Gossip. Lying. Legalism. Somewhere in the past it gained a foothold in their life. And it grew from there. Year after year they have remained in its grip. Never changing. Never knowing freedom.
This is what sin does. It seeks to gain entrance into our lives. At first it appears to be rather harmless. Even attractive. Inviting. But once we give into it, it quickly changes. It becomes aggressive. Possessive. It seeks more and more control. Gradually it becomes a habit. Then an addiction. One day we realize that we are no longer in control. Our sin has enslaved us. We try to fight it but it isn’t easy. The longer we have been held in its grasp the more difficult it is to become free. The result is that some people simply give up. They resign themselves to the fact that this is who they are. A few even embrace their addiction.
The moral of the story? We need to guard ourselves. To be vigilante. We need to treat every sin, no matter how small, as a mortal enemy. As something that wants to control us. And ruin us. This means that we need to resist it. Run away from it. We need to do whatever we have to do to keep from having it invade our lives. The stakes are high. Satan plays for keeps. And if he cannot claim our soul he will settle for having as much control over us as he possibly can. He wants us to be useless. Ineffective.
The older I become the more I realize that the Christian life is a battle. Every day. So we better be prepared for it. We do this by putting on the armor of God. By trusting in the Lord. Walking in the Spirit. This doesn’t mean that we won’t occasionally sin. But hopefully it means that we won’t allow Satan to gain any footholds in our lives either. That we are quick to repent. Quick to confess. Quick to get back in step with the Spirit. If not, who knows, but that we could become a pathetic figure ourselves. Someone whom others pity. Or worse yet, find disgusting.
Lord, help me to treat every sin as a dangerous, mortal enemy. As something that wants to defeat me. Control me. Enslave me. I thank you that You always make a way to escape the temptations that I face. And that You provide forgiveness when I fail. Help me to live in the freedom that is my right as one of Your children. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
What really caught my attention was that I noticed some vapor around their head. At first I thought it was their breath. After all, it was pretty cold. But upon closer inspection I realized that it was smoke. Sure enough I caught a glimpse of a cigarette in their mouth. So here they were, going down the street, walking behind their walker, puffing on a cigarette. And I mean puffing. I don’t think I have ever seen that much smoke come from a single cigarette. The irony is that they were walking away from the church. Somehow it was fitting.
What a sad sight that was. Someone who could barely walk, who had to have both hands on their walker, addicted to cigarettes so badly that they had to have one perched between their lips. I vacillated between feeling pity for them and disgust. After all these years they still hadn’t got victory over a bad habit. It just goes to show that old age is not necessarily a guarantee of wisdom.
Sadly, scenes such as this are on display every day in our culture. People who are caught in the throes of all kinds of habits and/or addictions. Gambling. Alcohol. Smoking. Drugs. Sex. Gossip. Lying. Legalism. Somewhere in the past it gained a foothold in their life. And it grew from there. Year after year they have remained in its grip. Never changing. Never knowing freedom.
This is what sin does. It seeks to gain entrance into our lives. At first it appears to be rather harmless. Even attractive. Inviting. But once we give into it, it quickly changes. It becomes aggressive. Possessive. It seeks more and more control. Gradually it becomes a habit. Then an addiction. One day we realize that we are no longer in control. Our sin has enslaved us. We try to fight it but it isn’t easy. The longer we have been held in its grasp the more difficult it is to become free. The result is that some people simply give up. They resign themselves to the fact that this is who they are. A few even embrace their addiction.
The moral of the story? We need to guard ourselves. To be vigilante. We need to treat every sin, no matter how small, as a mortal enemy. As something that wants to control us. And ruin us. This means that we need to resist it. Run away from it. We need to do whatever we have to do to keep from having it invade our lives. The stakes are high. Satan plays for keeps. And if he cannot claim our soul he will settle for having as much control over us as he possibly can. He wants us to be useless. Ineffective.
The older I become the more I realize that the Christian life is a battle. Every day. So we better be prepared for it. We do this by putting on the armor of God. By trusting in the Lord. Walking in the Spirit. This doesn’t mean that we won’t occasionally sin. But hopefully it means that we won’t allow Satan to gain any footholds in our lives either. That we are quick to repent. Quick to confess. Quick to get back in step with the Spirit. If not, who knows, but that we could become a pathetic figure ourselves. Someone whom others pity. Or worse yet, find disgusting.
Lord, help me to treat every sin as a dangerous, mortal enemy. As something that wants to defeat me. Control me. Enslave me. I thank you that You always make a way to escape the temptations that I face. And that You provide forgiveness when I fail. Help me to live in the freedom that is my right as one of Your children. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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