When Sin Comes Too Easy
“And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. – Romans 7:18-19 (NLT)
Wrestling with sin is exhausting. I’m pulled to places I don’t want to go, to feelings I don’t want to feel, and I end up heavy with the trappings of my sinful nature.
As a lover of Christ I can’t claim ignorance. I know full well the standard to which he holds me to as his child.
But why is it so hard to do the good, and right, and noble thing?
My greatest area of weakness is my self-centeredness, and right now, it’s aimed squarely at our dog.
Now, I realize the canine lovers out there would like to roast me right about now, and some of you will want to give me advice about how to better relate to my dog, but I really want to use this situation to illustrate how it’s not about how I deal with our dog, but rather how I’m to deal with my sin in the face of Jesus.
Pogo is a sweet, gentle, and highly neurotic dog. My husband and kids love her, and find great joy in her.
Joy. I used to feel that about a dog – our first one. She was a lively, all white shepherd mix named Mindy Sue. Mindy was a rescue pup my husband brought home for my birthday some twenty years ago. A time before kids, or the caring of dog hair, dirty floors, or bark
ing.
When the kids came, I lost the joy and saw only the inconveniences. More dirt, more cost, more work, and less freedom, but it’s really our dog’s need to “stick” at my side that’s been the hardest to deal with.
Pogo follows me everywhere, just like our last two dogs. If I get up, she gets up. If I move right, she moves right. If I sit down, she’ll lie down across the room so she can stare at me until I make my next move. Her persistent attention closes in around me.
Doesn’t she know that after home, family, work, and carpool I have nothing left to give her?
I try to change how I feel, and sometimes it works for a little while, but I always seem come back to the desert.
God, what is the lesson in this?
“So glad you asked,” he says.
Lesson #1: We cannot will ourselves to not sin. Alone, we lack the power to release Satan’s grip on us, however, the good news is that God has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and become our power. True peace is found only through a heaven-sent influence.
Lesson #2: God doesn’t hold us responsible for our birth into sin. However, he does hold us responsible when we realize he came to deliver us from it, and we refuse to let him – when we demand our own path.
The struggle isn’t within our sin, the struggle is what do with it in the light of Jesus. Do we take his salvation, his way, his plan, or do we travel a road of our own making? One leads to the desert, the other to the feet of Jesus.
For me, I still have work to do, especially when it comes to Pogo. Please, don’t worry though, she is VERY well taken care of!
Hope in Motion
- Read Romans 6:5-11. Do you struggle with sin’s power over your life? Romans 6:5-11 reminds us we were crucified with Christ, and are no longer slaves to sin! Easy to forget, isn’t it?
- Ephesians 2:1-10 tells us that God’s great love for us has saved us by his grace. Reflect on these verses, and let me know what stood out for you. Leave your comments below.
- Do you have a sin that Christ has helped you overcome? Want to share? Leave a comment below.
Raye thanks for writing about this today. A sin sure did take hold of me yesterday and I let it keep a hold of me this morning. It is amazing how you don’t think about certain things until you read about someone else feelings and then you say wow how stupid that sin was in the first place. I wish it wasn’t so easy to sin. I do take comfort in knowing though that the Lord that I love so much is so forgiving. I wish I was just as forgiving.
Sometimes, we forget others struggle as much as we do. It’s so comforting to know we are not alone! Amen that our Lord forgives in such abundant ways! Remember, we are a work in progress and it doesn’t end until we see our Maker face to face! Thanks for your insightful comment as always.