How to Overcome Sin

Far Too Dangerous

Megan Breedlove February 9, 2015 0Comment

Yesterday, when my almost-three-year-old son wanted to help me cook supper, I let him do things like help me fill a pan with water and then put the lid on the pan. I didn’t let him turn on the burner on our gas stove or use the cleaver to dice the cooked chicken. I was the one who did those tasks.

When my daughters Lindsey and Jessica wanted to jump from the top of Lindsey’s bunk bed over onto Jessica’s single bed, which was against a different wall, I could just envision them landing on the mattress and crashing both the mattress and box springs through the support slats onto the ground. I said no. Instead, I made sure they had other outlets for their physical play.

And when my son Kenny wanted the freedom to do flips on his own on our backyard trampoline, I knew that he really had no clue how to safely attempt them, having never been instructed. I told him he would have to let me instruct him first.

There are some things it is simply too dangerous for children to deal with on their own.

God knows this too, in terms of you and me. And in terms of the most dangerous thing we face: sin.

He knows that sin is far too threateningly hazardous for us to face it by ourselves. He knows that without His help, we will get hurt. And because He loves us so much, He doesn’t want anything like that to happen to us. His heart cries out to protect us.

Would you let your child face an angry rattlesnake by himself? Of course not. You’d do everything in your power to protect him because you love him. Your heart would rise up within and demand that you do something to protect your beloved. Likewise, God’s Father-heart deeply desires the protection of His beloved. Acting on that love, He’s done everything possible in His incredible power to keep us safe.

He gave His own life in place of ours to protect us from the death caused by sin. He knew there was no way we could ever make up for our sins and that we were in danger of eternal separation from Him. So He sent Jesus to take the penalty in our place.

He also promised that He will never leave us (see Deut. 31:8). He’ll be with us always. What this means for us (among many other wonderful things we will spend eternity trying to fathom) is that when we face sin, He’s right there with us and in us. Our Protector is right there, ready, willing, and able to help.

Not only that, but He guaranteed that He will always make a way for us to escape what sin is trying to do to us (see 1 Corinthians 10:13 below). Whether temptation assaults us with a direct attack or slithers quietly into our hearts and minds, there is a way to get away from it. We don’t have to stand there and let it devour us. We may feel overwhelmed, but we’re not. There’s a way out. A way to get away. A way to escape.

I’ve been aware of these verses for much of my life. But it wasn’t until recently that it really hit me: God did these things for me so I wouldn’t have to face something so dangerous all by myself and run the risk of getting seriously hurt.

Once I realized that truth, the rest fell into place: the reason why He cares so much about my being seriously hurt is because He loves me so much. He loves me and wants to protect me.

He loves you just as much, precious child of God, and He doesn’t want to see you hurt either. That’s why He’s done all this for you. That’s why He died for you, why He’s always with you, and why He always stands ready to help you escape.

That’s why He will make sure you never have to face sin alone.

1 Corinthians 10:13—No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (ESV)

The Speck in Your [Child’s] Eye

Megan Breedlove January 19, 2015 0Comment

I used to think (before I had children) that disciplining them would be a piece of cake. I figured that they would commit Infraction A, I would apply Discipline Technique B, and I would get Successful Resolution C. My kids would know that I meant business, and they would make the wise decision to stop doing “A”. For the more stubborn issues, where for some unknown reason they didn’t immediately stop doing “A”, I might have to apply “B” two or three more times—but surely, not more than that—and then the problem would be resolved (“C”). For good.

Yeah, um…no.

If you’ve been a parent for longer than about thirty seconds, you know that children’s responses are not always predictable. Just because it seems to make sense to you for your child to respond a certain way doesn’t mean it will make any kind of sense at all to your child. Or maybe it does make sense, but your child’s desire to do “A” is stronger than his or her desire to avoid “B”. In either case, there are plenty of issues that cannot be resolved in just a few attempts. You have to keep trying. For a long time.

One such issue at our house is the issue of speaking nicely to each other. “Just because you’re annoyed with your brother/sister,” I’ve said over and over, “doesn’t mean you can talk to him/her like that.”

Another issue we sometimes (often) struggle with is complaining. We’ve dealt with this to the point that the kids don’t usually put their discontent into words. But oh, the dejected body language, disappointed tones of voice, and dramatic sighs!

Good thing I, as the mom/adult, always speak nicely and never complain….

Yeah. Ouch. Because the words that roll off my tongue towards others aren’t always nice, and aren’t always spoken in a pleasant tone of voice. And sometimes I do complain when circumstances aren’t to my liking. The odds are, you have difficulties in these areas too—at least occasionally.

We discipline our children for sins that we allow ourselves to get away with.

Jesus had something to say about that. In fact, He called us hypocrites. “What do you think you’re doing correcting someone else for the same faults you commit, but letting yourself get away with it?” He asked (my paraphrase). He goes on to tell us, “You correct your own faults, and then you will be in a position to help others correct theirs” (again, my paraphrase).

It is most certainly one of our duties as parents to help our children correct their faults. So if we apply Jesus’ words to our situation, we realize that since we must correct our children, we better be correcting ourselves as well.

“Hypocrites,” Jesus calls us when we don’t do that. And children can spot a hypocrite a mile away.

We’re never going to be perfectly sin-free this side of heaven, true. But if we deal as firmly with our own sins as we do with our children’s sins, not only will we please God, but we’ll also show our children that we mean what we say. God’s Word and His ways apply to everyone—and that, of course, is what we want them to know.

What do you discipline your children for? Have you dealt with that sin in your own life first?

Matt. 7:3-5—“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Temptation

Megan Breedlove September 30, 2013 1Comment

For awhile now, I’ve been on a diet, attempting to lose the last of the baby weight and return to my pre-pregnancy shape. And I’ve discovered something—that I’m not as easily able to resist certain types of temptation as I thought I was.

Doritos, for example. If they’re in the house, I will eat them. I may start with just one, but then there’ll be another one, and then a small bowlful. They don’t have that many calories, I tell myself. Besides, I’ll be really good the rest of the day.

It never works like that. Before I know it, I’ve consumed an unknown (but probably pretty high) quantity of nacho cheesy calories, and I still have half the day to go. During the rest of that day, I have not only to eat supper, but also to eat the rest of the Doritos I’ll probably eat.

In other words, I’m terrible at eating Doritos moderately. The only way for me not to eat way too many is not to eat that first one.

Realistically speaking, it doesn’t matter all that much whether I eat too many Doritos on occasion. But it does matter if I approach sin and temptation with the same attitude I approach Doritos. Let me explain.

God has told us to stay away from certain things—lust, greed, pride, and jealousy, to name just a few. If we stay far away from those things—if we refuse to allow ourselves to enjoy even a small portion of them—we’re fine. But if we think we can engage in “just a little bit” of gossip, or “not that much” greed, we’re making a dangerous mistake.

You see, just like eating Doritos (or whatever your favorite “forbidden” food is), partaking of a little bit of sin will lead to more. We speak a few words of gossip, and no lightning from heaven zaps us, so we figure gossip isn’t really all that bad. But the bad effects of it are building up in our system, not the least of which is causing us to want more.

Even with that first word of gossip, we’ve sinned and done something we shouldn’t do. Just because we don’t see immediate consequences doesn’t mean that we haven’t harmed ourselves. We’re already on the wrong side of the line.

Adam and Eve would have empathized with us. God had told them they could eat the fruit of every tree except one—one!—and they decided that one was just what they had to have. Look what happened. That “one” sin led to more and brought with it disastrous consequences, not only for them but for all mankind.

Don’t dabble in sin, my friends. You’ve been deceived by Satan if you think you can do “just a little” and then stop. You can’t. He’s far craftier than that, and you may be far weaker than you think. If you start allowing yourself to sin “just a little bit”, you’re going to do it more and more. And whether or not you see the consequences right then, you’re going to go to far. In fact, even with the first morsel of sin, you’ve already gone too far.

Is there some sin you’re dabbling with today? Is there something you’re engaging in and refusing to put to death in your life because it’s “not that bad”? You’re already walking on the wrong side of the line and don’t know it, for Scripture tells us that we can be sure our sin will find us out.

Get rid of your sin, whatever it is. Just like I can’t have Doritos in the house, get that favorite sin out of your spiritual house. Don’t leave even a single morsel of it around to tempt you.

Numbers 32:23—But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.