sin: "it's not that bad"
January 4, 2010
i visited a few friends today at their college apartment; as most guy apartments go, theirs was not an exception to the normal messy apartment. i asked a friend something regarding the cleanliness of their air filter. &he, after looking at the air filter, said "it's not that bad. *pause* but it's probably because of that mindset that our apartment has become so messy."
&it was then that i realized how wise, indeed, his words were, especially when it comes to sin.
i believe that this is how sin seeps into our lives, dirties our souls, fogs up our spiritual awareness/alertness, and causes a mess of the life God intended for us; a great portion of it can be attributed to our "its not that bad" mindset. becoming steeped in sin or losing our spiritual alertness is not a sudden incident. no, it is gradual &unnoticeable if looked at day by day. but as we continue to let little sins, or even little things that may not be necessarily viewed as sins but gray area matters, into our lives while we continue to tell ourselves "its not that bad," we will soon look at our spiritual lives and realize that it has become weak. &we will be able to actually know why it is that we do not seem to be able to attain to that joy &abundant life that we so see in those godly people around us.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 peter 5:8)
i believe that a good start to the solution of aiming to not lose our spiritual alertness is to completely toss this "its not that bad" mindset. to look at everything, whether it is an obvious sin or a gray area matter, for what it is. to realize that if it's not going to bring you closer to God or aid you in your process of becoming a holy vessel for God to use for His purposes and glory, then it is very likely an unnecessary thing to do, &it can be done without.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 corinthians 10:31)
but of course, this is much easier said than done. under that mentality, we can give up a lot of unnecessary things, like shopping or watching tv/movies altogether, which some people really have given up. and i do so very admire them &their will & determination. &this is something that i still struggle with. giving up things that really are of no benefit to my growth in Christ, even though sometimes i really just think "its not that bad." like, the tv shows i watch. or a better example yet, the songs i listen to. at the beginning of the school year, i had aimed to not listen to certain types of music, because i had realized over summer how the things we listen to really do affect the thoughts that run through our minds and our words/actions that ensue. but i've failed. i've slided back into listening to things i had aimed to not listen to. &i can very clearly see how it has definitely affected my spiritual alertness in some matters.
but though i fail, i do not and will not give up. it's a new year! &new years can symbolize new beginnings. and once again, i will aim to give up certain things that i may receive greater things from God. that i may be a usable vessel for His purpose and glory. &what's more, i've realized that if i'm really going to be serious about my desire to serve God in the future, the preparation of my heart and mind begins now. not when God calls me, because by then, it'll be too late &God will catch me unprepared. but i will begin allowing God to prepare me now. just like those 40 years in the desert where God prepared moses for his ultimate calling. before those 40 years, moses was not ready, but after those 40 years, when God called him, he was ready & prepared, &right how God wanted him to be. &so i will allow God to prepare me now, & i believe that for me, it all starts with gradual sacrifices, gradually letting go of the things i cling to and hold onto so dearly, that i may truly come before God openhearted and empty-handed that He alone may satisfy me and give me all the blessings He's wanted to give me all along, but that my hands had been too full of with the things of this world to have received.
&now i will end with what is an excellent definition of sin, as described by john wesley's mother to john wesley:
“Take this rule: whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself.”
Susanna Wesley (Letter, June 8, 1725)
some things really don't come down to right or wrong, but to flesh or spirit.
(2 excellent, yet hard, articles on discernment for gray area matters: http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001494.cfm
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