Preparing for sin? Why would anyone want to prepare for sin? But, believe it or not without even realizing it, we can find ourselves doing just that. Let me give you an example.
I used to smoke, and when I would try to quit, I’d still keep a pack or two around the house just in case quitting didn’t take. “Strangely” with the temptation of the cigarettes close at hand I fell back into smoking again. It wasn’t until I coughed all the way to work one morning that I threw five packs of cigarettes and a Zippo lighter into a dumpster. Turns out that was what I needed to finally quit. When I didn’t have any cigarettes around, any easy way to yield to temptation, I didn’t fall.
I must admit I went back the next day to see if I could reclaim my property. The dumpster was empty, though. It was then I realized how much of a grip smoking had on me. I was actually willing to dumpster dive for a smoke. Sin has a similar grip on us. We just don’t often recognize it.
Sinning is like striking a match. All the pieces may be there, the match, the striking strip on the box, and the person (you and me) needed to strike the match. True, the match will never be struck unless the person picks it up and runs that match head along the striking strip. But, if we can remove the match, the striking strip, or both, there isn’t even an opportunity to light the match. In the same way, if we eliminate the necessary factors in our lives that draw us into temptation, we couldn’t sin if we wanted to. Keeping that box of matches around is just asking for trouble. We’re making provision for sin.
There’s a story about a boy who kept falling out of his bed at night. After his father had put him back in bed several times, he asked the boy, “What part of the bed do you sleep on?” The boy said, “Right here on the edge.” The father said, “Of course you’re going to fall out of bed when you’re this close to the edge.” Then he told the boy to sleep back on the part of the bed that was against the wall, far from the edge. The boy did and never fell out of bed again. Avoiding the edge is much easier than trying to balance on it. Avoiding temptation is much easier than resisting it.
For us to keep from being tempted, we need to stay as far away from the temptation as possible, as close to the wall as we can. Sometimes, it’s just that simple. Of course, when we do sin, our Christian walk suffers, our relationship with our Lord suffers. Our Christian example to others suffers as well. As we mature as Christians, more people have their eyes on us. When we stumble, we can stumble others. Let’s stay far from the edge.
We can run from temptation as Joseph did with Potipher’s wife (Genesis 39). But, it’s better if we just stay away from the environment of temptation in the first place. We don’t want to hang out at a bakery or candy store when we’re trying to drop a few pounds.
We can make sure we don’t provide for our own fall. We should all do that. But, we must remember there is always a gracious and forgiving God who waits for our confession if we do fall. We can be restored to the relationship we need as Christians.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 