Temptation… Ahh!!! We’ve all struggled with it and we’re not done with it. We’re human and there are certain things that come up in our lives every now and then that tempt us in some way or another. Often, we overcome it and great! It ends there. Good job. Other times we fall into whatever sin it is and then feel guilty or suffer other consequences because of it and then ask ourselves whether it was really worth it. It isn’t and if you don’t think that then ask God to help you repent! However, what I’d like to discuss is what happens when you rationalize your sin into almost believing it’s not a sin. That I think is one of the most dangerously deceptive sins there is because then you think you’re entitled to do it and it’s not an issue. If you don’t see it as a problem, you won’t repent which is EXACTLY what the devil wants.
Just like in the garden when the serpent said you will surely not die, God just doesn’t want you to be like Him and know everything. Satan’s still up to his same sneaky trickery today. Well, it’s not really a sin because of X, Y, Z. They did this to you so now you can do this to them, it’s only a natural consequence. Nobody will care if you do it. Nobody will know. It’s not fair that that happened, but if you do this then it will even things out. If people knew the whole story, they would side with you. Maybe the world would, but God wouldn’t. The Lord says vengeance is His. We’re not to take it into our own hands. If you try, then what are you valuing more than God and His word? What do you gain by disobeying God? Is that worth losing your salvation over? If you commit that sin and you get into an accident and die, would it have been worth it? Would God actually approve? Sometimes you might want God to approve. God, you know what’s happened. It’s not fair. Can I please just do this? It’s something small. It won’t matter in the long run. I don’t want to leave things as they are. Can you let me do this? No. Maybe you want to seek advice or approval from other people to help justify what you want to do? If it’s the world, they might cheer you on and tell you to do it because it’s what they would do. If it’s a believer, they should steer you the right way and therefore you might not be inclined to ask them. Darkness hates the light. Ask yourself who you’re asking, people that would approve of the sin you want to commit or people that would Biblically correct you and guide you away from it? Ask yourself whether you’re actually opening your Bible to look for the guidance you know you need or avoiding it so you can continue to justify your sin. Ever heard of ignorance is bliss? Well, we often know what we have to do or should do but resist it anyway. God sees everything though and there’s no fooling him. He knows our hearts and will judge every thought and action accordingly. What are the top 2 commandments? Love God and love your neighbor. Think about the consequences of that sin. If you commit that sin, who does it hurt? If you don’t commit that sin, what good could come from that? How can you use this to help be a light in the world instead of adding to the darkness that’s already in it? How is what you’re planning on doing actually selfish and how can you be selfless by turning that around and doing the opposite of what the world would expect? A lot of this is hypothetical and may be hard to wrap your brain around, but I’ll try to give an example to illustrate my points. Let’s say a small child is playing on the beach and it took them an hour to build a sand castle with their father before some older kid comes over and knocks it all down. That’s not fair. They spent all this time making it for someone to destroy it within seconds. That child might be inclined to retaliate. They may feel sad and cry, or they might want to go over there and punch his lights out. Whatever his reaction, the world would want to get riled up and do something to that big bully. How dare he! He’s bigger and older and should know better. What right did he have to do that? Some teen should come over and steal his skateboard or pants the kid or SOMETHING right? Wrong! If we genuinely love our neighbor, we’re supposed to forgive them and pray for them for they know not what they do. Imagine if rather than get upset, the child looked the older kid in the eye and calmly said, “I made that castle with my dad. I don’t see you here with your dad. Maybe you destroyed my castle because you wish your dad was here making one with you. Do you want to make one with me and my dad?” Wouldn’t that just blow you away? What kid would respond like this? We don’t see that and the world doesn’t encourage that. How often do we hear parents tell their kids that if somebody picks on them, then it’s okay to do something back? No. How do you know that the kid doesn’t have a bad home life? Those kids especially need love, not more hate. They’re used to hate. They provoke hate because that’s all they know. Full of anger in a wicked and unjust world. Who is going to love those kids? Who is going to reach out to them and give them the friendship and love that they so desperately need? Who is going to extend mercy to them? God’s wisdom is foolishness to the world and confounds it. However, it is cherished wisdom to those that are being saved. Again, none of us is perfect. While this blog is meant to edify others and is sometimes based on what I see in the world, often some of the things I end up writing either were inspired by or can also apply to myself. I was reading a book that for different reasons I had bought years ago and am only now really reading called, “If I Plug My Ears, God Can’t Tell Me What to Do” by Jessie Clemence. Let me just say that the Holy Spirit does speak through people and wow, when God told her to write a book He knew what he was doing. The last book I read I thought was a bunch of fluff that didn’t apply to me (I won’t mention it because it may help someone else, God’s will is always accomplished in the end and I’m not about to criticize another author when they probably put their heart and soul into those pages!). This book however is FULL of good things that could apply to MANY and I definitely recommend it! It’s also not a dull read and really personable with real-life examples and testimonies. Anyway, I was reading this book, not even thinking about sin or temptation but about God’s will for my life in general. However, listen to this. “Anytime we choose ourselves over God, we’re sinning. If we have clear directions from the Word of God and we ignore them, we’re sinning… The big consequences of big sins are hard to ignore, but the quieter sins we can rationalize and pretend away. That doesn’t make them any less of a sin. We’re still choosing our own way, opinion, or perspective over God’s, which will stop us from being able to follow God to wherever He is leading us.” Wow. Common sense like duh, right? Wrong. I was reading that exactly at the right time when I was rationalizing and justifying something I shouldn’t consider doing. We all face temptations in our lives, and even after reading that, I STILL pleaded with God to let me. The nerve. I can’t. It’s His will, not mine. That was when I considered the consequences of what would happen either way, and guess what? It was a selfish sin and if I turned it around, it’s an opportunity to bless others. Okay God, I’m ready to listen! Please use me to be a light in the world and keep being patient and correcting me when I make mistakes. Comments are closed.
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DisclaimerWhile I love open discussions, not all internet users are kind. I'd like to build people up, not have others cut people down. Therefore, no comments, but feel free to email me if there's something you'd like to share with me. Archives
July 2020
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