Do you often say, “It’s okay” when confronted with a temptation? Do you think that a bit of sin is not the same as a big sin?
ROMANS 8:5 Those who are dominated by sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
Reflection
Okay. This kind of thing should get those men's juices flowing, especially if you have any competitiveness. A winner and a loser. Which will it be?
So here you are. Eternity is at stake. That’s what happens after the here part of your being. It’s right now in your life, and you are confronted with some sin. Nobody sees what you are doing, so nobody will know. It’s just a tiny lie; it won’t harm anyone. I’m late, and that stop sign is just slowing me down. The next drink won’t make me drunk. I’ll be fine.
These words from Paul are powerful. Imagine being dominated by sin. It owns you, and you are not you. You are not in control because you’ve given it to sin.
Meanwhile, if you give your life to God through Jesus, you have the gift of the Holy Spirit. When you genuinely spend time with God, you keep the Spirit awake, and the Spirit has the chance to help you stay on the better focus.
You’ve been doing your taxes for a while, and you’ve noticed that moving the lever of charity giving directly impacts the tax you pay. The issue you haven’t been giving, but the software suggests you can move the lever, and the odds are you’ll be fine. After all, doesn’t everyone do this?
It was a moment. It was a mistake. You regret it. Now what?
Eternity is at stake. Your life here from now and until when is at stake. So why do we stumble so much? Why do we fail to follow the Godly path?
Let’s face it. We are an easy target for Satan. Heck, Adam followed Eve, knowing completely it was wrong. He chose sin over God. He is the poster child of selfishness. At least, that is my view. But did he lack self-control? I’d say no. He knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. But for us, not so much. Sin usually rewards us with pleasure, but there is always a cost. It might not be immediate, but it comes. The bill of sin always comes due.
So, how do we deal with this battle? Paul helps us by suggesting if we give control over to the Spirit, then our focus, our motivation, and our source of what to do will be powered by the Holy Spirit. Not by our sinful nature.
Let’s face it. Satan knows how to move us toward sin and away from God. He is thrilled when we are focused on ourselves. It brings him great joy to see us be so focused on ourselves and this world and not focusing on God. God is good. Satan is a sin. The more we sin, the more Satan wins. But don’t fool yourself. Your momentary goodness is just a mask for your potentially selfish self.
I’ve seen plenty of “Christian men” who volunteer, get those inbox devotionals, and say they have “quiet time,” yet they are more sinful than folks who don’t play that game. Don’t fool yourself if you are a poser Christian. Take inventory of how you treat everyone and listen to how others are responding to you or maybe how you are responding to their response.
Most posers say what they think the other wants to hear. They also don’t listen and reflect on how people are towards them. They have the arrogance that they are not the problem. Imagine that? A selfish, arrogant man doesn’t think there is anything about him that needs some tweaking—ever seen that guy before? Maybe he’s looking back at you in the mirror?
I think where Paul wanted to go with us here is that we need to be honest, authentic, and willing to realize we might just be a poser. We might be a sinner and we need to stop. We need to stop the sinning … big or small. Sin is sin. We must focus our attention on the Holy Spirit. We need to stop being okay with what isn’t okay.
So what’s going to win here? Sin or Spirit? The choice is yours. You have free will. So you get to choose. Win or lose. It’s your choice.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for our free will. Thank you for the examples of good and bad examples. Thank you for giving us Jesus to show us a better way. Thank you for the Holy Spirit and the opportunity to share our lives with you. Please help us, Lord, as we try to let the Spirit win. We are sinful by nature, and we can get fooled. Guide us, Father. Protect us. Remind us to give that sin tendency to the Spirit and allow the Spirit to keep us from that temptation. Forgive our sins, Father. We do not want to remain ashamed, damaged, broken, or in our sin. We want out. We want to win with you and the Spirit. Please keep us, our families, and our friends safe. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, our Lord, and Savior. Amen.
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