Since my last blog post, SIN MAKES PEOPLE STUPID (November 30), I came across a verse which makes this point without pulling any punches: “Alcohol and prostitution have robbed my people of their brains.” (Hosea 4:11 NLT) It’s important not to limit this verse to alcohol and prostitution as the only sins which rob people of their sensibilities. In the Old Testament alcohol seems to be the drug of choice, while there are few references to drugs. The Bible offers many warnings regarding the dangers of substance use and scores of examples of the devastation which can be caused by their use. The Hebrew word for “prostitution” (Zenuwth) means “fornication, harlotry” but it’s derived from the word, Zanah (zaw-nah’) which means “fornication, adultery, to be unfaithful to God.” This second word covers significantly more activities which have the potential to dull or destroy a person’s sensibilities to the point they make unwise and sinful choices.
What I’d like to do in today’s blog post is look at what we need to do be wise in how we live and expound on how to live self-controlled, which has been the theme of my three previous posts. Somewhere along the way we need a serious reality check when it comes to the true nature of sin. The reason why sin looks so attractive and is so tempting is because it makes a strong appeal to the fleshly part of us. We sin because we want to. We sin because there’s something very pleasurable and satisfying to it. Hebrews 11:25 refers to “enjoying sins pleasures.” (NIRV) If we’re going to live self-controlled lives we need to get to the place where we see sin for what it really is; we need to see beyond “sins pleasures” and see the damage and bondage connected to sin. Until we see the “dark side” of sin it will continue to look attractive and appealing to us. Jeremiah, the prophet who told the truth no one wanted to hear, made this statement: “The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NLT) Our heart is “deceitful” when we know what sin can do, we have knowledge of the devastation of sin in another person’s life, and we still say to ourselves, “That’s not going to happen to me.” We see someone come under sin’s control and we say to ourselves, “I’m stronger. I’m smarter. I’m more spiritual. That’s not going to happen to me.” I’ve met many strong, smart and spiritual people in my life and sin has absolutely kicked their butt! It’s cost them more than they ever planned to pay, taken them further than they ever planned to go, and they found sin harder to overcome than they ever imagined.
What do Samson, the strongest man, Solomon, the wisest man, David, the godliest man, all have in common? They all caved in to sexual temptation. The first step to living self-controlled is acknowledging how weak we are in ourselves and how much we need the Holy Spirit’s strength. In a way this is similar to the first step in the well-known 12-step programs: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.“ On a side note, when I did a Google search for “12-step programs” I entered “10-step.” Isn’t that just like some of us? We think we can skip a few steps and take shortcuts in life. If you really want to live a self-controlled, Christ-honoring life, you have to first acknowledge how much you need the Holy Spirit.
To be continued…
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