The toddler needed help; however, when daddy or mommy offered to help, the toddler said, “No. I do it!” He needed to put on his snow pants and boots to go outside and play in the snow. Many failed attempts followed and all along the way the toddler continued his mantra, “No. I do it!” A good hour or more passed. The little guy was frustrated, angry, and was missing out on all the fun outside while insisting on his own way. It was not until his parents lovingly helped him that he was able to go play with his siblings in the snow; however, by the time he got outside, his siblings wanted to come inside because they were too cold! This little toddler was his own worst enemy. He needed to acknowledge that his own way wasn’t the right way!
We, the church, are too often like this toddler, unwilling to acknowledge our own way is faulted…unwilling to acknowledge we need to follow God’s way! It is crucial that we pursue God’s way (Prov. 3:5-8)! God will not be made the fool. God will do what He says He’ll do about our sin (Gen. 3:3, 16-19, 23-24)!
How we handle our sin will reveal what we think about God’s Word.
We often say we believe what the Bible says, however, we still attempt to circumvent biblical reality. Look at the different solutions for sin we will often embrace:
Ignoring Sinful Choices
Ignoring our own sinful choices will not change the outcome. We will reap what we sow (Galatians 6).
Balaam – Numbers 22. Balak, King of Moab, sends Balaam (the prophet of God) to pronounce curses on Israel and return to him. God changes the orders, and Balaam pronounces blessings on Israel. God also tells Balaam not to return to Balak. Balaam disobeys God and begins his journey to return to Balak. The angel of the Lord meets Balaam on the way and only his donkey can see the angel of the Lord. Balaam beats the donkey 3 times for not moving – however, what Balaam cannot see is the angel of the Lord blocking the road. Balaam chose to reject God’s clear direction, so God chooses to provide direction through a donkey…ignoring his own sin (Balaam rejecting God’s directives) did not bring the desired end he sought.
Korah – Numbers 16:32. Korah organized a mob of people to challenge God’s anointed leader, Moses. The Lord causes the earth to swallow them up! Korah was not able to outmaneuver, manipulate, or strong-arm God. Ignoring sin (Korah’s rejection of God’s chosen leadership) did not bring the desired end Korah pursued. An encouraging “after story” is that the Lord used the descendants of Korah to write some of the Psalms. The God of second chances brings hope through redemption!
Thief on the Cross – Luke 23:32-43. He committed crimes until he was finally caught and crucified. Perhaps he thought he would do the crime and worry about the consequences later? Eventually, “later” comes for a visit! The thief on the cross ignored his own sin’s consequences until they were forced upon him!
The thief doesn’t think about getting caught
The murderer doesn’t think about the jury’s verdict amid the murderous act
The alcoholic or drug addict doesn’t think about losing their family
The chain smoker doesn’t think about lung cancer
The unhealthy eater doesn’t think about possible diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks, and the physical pain that comes with it all.
…the family that embraces quick temperedness, anger, disgust, and rage focuses on their own wants and refuses to forgive – and that focus leads to even more fighting. It is the law of the harvest!
…the family that demonstrates and declares little to no love for one another is lacking the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23; Matt. 5:44). Love for the unlovable and a consistent love that is sacrificial is rooted in the Spirit of God. A lack of love for others reveals a lack of loving relationship with Jesus. It is the law of the harvest!
…the family that insists on creating their own roles in the home will only see how their way is somehow better than what the Bible says – for they often pick and choose what to embrace from God, or they don’t spend much time with God so they come up with their own “good way.” This is why they have so much turmoil at home! It is the law of the harvest! We will not change the outcome to a desired end when we ignore our own sin.
Blazing your own way
Blazing your own way, instead of God’s way, will end exactly as He says it will (Proverbs 14:12).
“No one is going to tell me what to do”
“I am a self-made man/woman”
“I am the maker of my own destiny”
“You worry about yourself, and I’ll take care of myself”
These might be reflective of the unsaved; however, God has something quite the opposite in mind for His children: greater dependence on Him as we grow in our relationship with Him (John 15:5; I Thess. 4:9-12). When we attempt to blaze our own way in life, we will find that this pathway is: lonely, unsatisfying, frustrating, puzzling, and miserable! “God’s way” and “my way” both have struggles and hardships along the way; however, the difference with God’s way is that we have God’s enabling (II Cor. 12:9)!
Attempting to Hide
Attempting to hide your sinful choices from God is foolish. Consider Achan in Joshua 6-7!
God is not blind…that He cannot see
God is not unintelligent…that He cannot figure this out
God is not weak…that He cannot bring consequences on rebellion
God is not too busy…that my sin will escape His view
A 2.5-year-old girl was found shortly before dinner with her mouth covered in chocolate. Her mother asked her what she had been doing. The little girl explained she had been cleaning her face. When the mother asked if she was cleaning her face with chocolate, she responded confidently, “Yep!”
God is SO good that He will not allow us to get away with hiding our sin. In fact, He will do what it takes to bring us back to Himself. We want God to reveal the sin of others, but we sometimes forget that He also wants to deal with our sin as well! God wants to deal with our anger, our selfishness, our pride, our bitterness, our slander, etc. Instead of dwelling on the sins of others that we know about, we ought to be still and consider our own sinful actions. Have we made those sins right before God and others?
Coming Clean
Coming clean about our sin to the One who already knows about it – is crucial!
Transparency is Freeing!
James 5:16 – “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Humility is required!
Psalm 32:5 – “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”
Forgiveness is Strength!
King David confessed sin. He recognized his relationship with God was more important than his position as King.
Psalm 51:1-4 – “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.”
The family unit in the modern-day church is facing a crisis!
o Church attendance is significantly down and often viewed as optional. Ex. 20:3-8; Heb. 10:24-25.
o Personal relationship with Jesus is often shallow, lacking depth. Ps. 1:2; II Tim. 2:15; 3:14.
o Addictive behaviors like recreational drug use, heavy drinking, gaming, and pornography are surprisingly high among the church community. I Cor. 10:31; Eph. 5:3-8.
o Relational conflicts are not handled biblically, and the conflicts grow more intense over time. Instead of seeking counsel at the beginning of unresolved conflict, too many marriages attempt to continue on as though nothing happened. As a result, marriages are weak and broken – and children do not know what a healthy relationship looks like and are prone to repeat this unhealthy pattern. Eph. 4:25-32; 5:18-33; 6:1-4.
What’s the answer?
Well, many of us insist on proving our way does not work by insisting on pursuing our own way. The outcomes of that pursuit often leave us with baggage much heavier than we ever wanted to carry. The good news is seen in the garden of Eden, in the account of Balaam and his donkey, in Korah’s revolt, and even in the reality of the thief on the cross. The good news is that the love of Jesus far greater than we can imagine! His love is patient, kind, merciful, forgiving, and long-suffering. You may have messed up and embraced some significant sinful choices, but God is ready and willing to forgive (Ps. 86:5; I Jn. 1:9)!!
Reject your own ideas about sin and choose to believe what God says about your sin – and His love!