Stuck With a Recurring Sin

I pretend to farm, but no one is ever going to mistake me for a real farmer.  Last year, I used my tractor to mow a field that definitely needed it.  I got about halfway through the field and—in a split second—ran the tractor into a very, very muddy spot .  Despite 4-wheel drive, despite going back and forth, despite putting dry dirt under the tires, that tractor was stuck.  It took a friend on a lot bigger tractor to come to my aid.  He kept his tractor in the dry part of the field, pulled my tractor with a chain, and freed me.

Now, just like no one will ever mistake me for a real farmer, no one will ever accuse me of being the sharpest tool in the shed.  Just over a year later (last month, in fact), I was back out there mowing that same field.  Surely, being later in the year and much drier, that muddy spot wouldn’t be so bad, right?  I was very careful when I got to the “danger zone.”  Yet what happened?  Yep, stuck again.  And once again, some friends pulled me out, using their tractor from a dry part of the field.

Sometimes sin is just like that muddy part of the field.  We can get stuck in it.  Yes, even Christians.  And then, long after we are free of the sin, we may tend to re-visit it.  We may even think, “I’ll be more careful this time.  I know what to look for.  I’ll go slowly and catch myself before anything bad happens.”  And then, something bad happens anyway.

Why would we go back to the sin that trapped us before?  Different reasons, perhaps.  But there really is no good reason.  We get trapped again, and we need help to get out.  Of course, the primary friend to turn to for help is Jesus.  No matter how deep we are stuck in sin, He can get us out.  There’s no use trying to do it on our own; in fact, we can end up making it worse on our own.  But He can help, and He will help. 

In addition to Jesus, we can turn to Christian friends.  We can let them know we’re stuck and need their help.  They can help us by praying, or listening to our confession, or keeping us accountable.  A good Christian friend who stands on solid faith can be the means by which Jesus frees us when we’re stuck.

But try to avoid getting stuck in the first place.  Steer clear of any sin that has snared you before, and you won't be as tempted to go into that danger zone!

What Can I Get Away With?

Young Christians can throw you some real curveballs.  If you work with them very much at all, you better be on your toes.  One recurring theme is the “What if….” question.  You may be familiar with it.  It goes something like this:

-Me: “Based on this Bible passage, we should study Scripture.  Try to read some each day.”

-Young Adult: “What if I’m really busy every day?”

-Me: “Things have a way of taking up your time.  Try to set aside just 10 minutes.”

-YA: “What if I’m working 12 hour days and I’m really tired?”

-Me: “How much time each day do you spend texting or messaging?  Use some of that time.”

-YA: “What if…”

Yep, you know the routine.  It can go on and on.  The bottom line is that the person is trying to find excuses.  Excuses to avoid doing what needs to be done or excuses to do what shouldn’t be done.

We’re all guilty of it to some degree.  It’s part of human nature.  We want to push the boundaries.  We want to know what we can get away with.  

An old poem shows how we can nitpick God's law to get what we want:

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife,

His ox thou shalt not slaughter,

But thanks be to God there is no law

Against coveting thy neighbor’s daughter.

When we seek “escape clauses”, we look to the letter of the law rather than the intent.  Jesus criticized the Pharisees for this same type of overly-literal obedience to the Old Testament law.  When we ask “What can I get away with?”, we are asking the wrong question.

In the movie I, Robot, a hologram has information that can help Will Smith’s character solve a crime.  But most of the time, when Will’s character asks the hologram a question, the hologram responds, “You must ask the right question.”  Rather than ask how we can twist Scripture to fit our desires, the right question to ask is “Am I honoring God?”