Dealing with it . . .

Dealing with what you might ask – dealing with sin of course. Romans 6:23 says that the “wages of sin is death”. You know I’m really glad that payday is not immediate. I mean, what would it be like if as soon as you sinned – you died. What I don’t think that we understand is that sin can and will lead to death if it is not dealt with. Sin is a progressive thing not an immediate thing. No one wakes up and goes – I think I’ll go out and murder someone today or I’ll go out and steal or commit adultery. What you don’t agree with this, well go look at the life of Samson. As you read and study about his life and understand who he was and how he was supposed to live you begin to see a progression of sin in his life. That is generally how it happens with us.

Understanding that sin is progressive (growing like cancer) – we can find ways of dealing with it. What we need to understand is the often times that may mean cutting something a way – like surgery. Let me give you an example: sex outside of marriage. God says that sex outside of marriage is wrong and can lead to all kinds of problems. Now, most people don’t just meet a guy or a girl and 10 minutes later they are in bed. What happens is a progression. Most relationships start with holding hands, a hug, a little peck on the cheek. That is where the progression starts. Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that holding hands, a hug, or a peck on the cheek are sins. Often very innocent things can and will lead us to sin. What we don’t understand is that once the progression starts moving, it is really hard to stop and roll back. Once you move from a peck on the cheek to a real kiss, it is really hard to go back to a peck on the cheek. The fallacy that we live under is that we can control it. You may say that it is not a fallacy – you can control what you do. My answer to that is – possibly – but can you control what the other person is going through.

We need to understand that the father of lies – the devil – will put stuff in our heads – like “we can handle this.” Always remember that sin is a progression. Bad habits don’t start as habits. Smoking generally starts as “I’ll just smoke one to fit in” or drinking as “I’ll just have one drink”. Progressively it becomes a habit. So how do we deal with it – it being sin?

Understand the dangers. Separate yourself from the sin. You can not deal with sin if you are still participating in it. Repent of your sin to God. Have someone that cares about you hold you accountable. Do not put yourself in a situation where a progression can start. Read God’s word and meditate on it. Pray for strength and wisdom. Join a fellowship of like minded believers who can support you and you support them.

Keep your eyes on Jesus and don’t do anything that you would not do with Him sitting right in front of you – because basically He is.