Christian Living

---

How Serious Do You Take Your Sin?
Naomi Cassata: [email protected]

Sin is a word that many people try to avoid. Lies are called stories, lust is called only looking, stealing is called borrowing, hate is called dislike, an idol is called materials possessions or entertainment. These are only a few things we aren’t willing to call sin. We come up with milder names to dull the sting of what we really know to be true about ourselves. Sin that we are not willing to deal with, will always master our souls. Sin holds us in bondage with no intentions of letting go.

Why is it so difficult to avoid something that we know is wrong? Because it is pleasurable to our flesh! It makes us feel good. If we are completely honest, we aren’t willing to give up what we enjoy; and if confronted, we will generally justify it.

In Matthew 18:8-9, Jesus taught the severity of sin and how to deal with it. He says to “cut it off and cast it from you.” Whatever the area of sin, it must be dealt with at the root. Get rid of it altogether. I have 3 raised beds outside with vegetables growing in them. Despite the amount of time I put into keeping the weeds at bay, they still seem to creep in when I’m not looking. When I pull them up, sometimes they tear and the root is left beneath the soil. Before long, the weed re-grows stronger than ever. My tearing the weed didn’t deal with the problem; It only temporarily hid it until it grew back. You don’t deal with weeds gently. Sin is much like a pesky weed. Allowing sin to abide in our hearts will corrupt our whole being. Sin has one goal, to lead the one it is deceiving straight into hell.

We read in Roman 7:11 that sin is deceiving. What does that mean? It means, in the beginning, sin can seem like an “innocent” and “good” thing, but in the end, it is always destructive to the one engaging in it. The word of God exposes sin for what it is as well as what it will lead to if we take it lightly. In Romans 6:23, we learn that the wages of sin will lead to death. Death, in the Bible, is referred to as eternal separation from God and ultimately will lead to a place called Hell.

As followers of Christ, we must understand the importance of living holy lives now. We are surrounded by entertainment that is distracting us from loving God with our whole hearts, souls and minds. Entertainment in its various forms seems so innocent and it is certainly pleasurable to our flesh. I believe this is one of satan’s greatest deceptive devises used to delude Christians and cause us to be enslaved to worldly pleasures, so our focus is diverted from God and we miss our purpose in life. We too eagerly hold out our hand to entertainment despite the fact it contrasts our Christian morals. Yet, we continue to look on because we’ve grown dull to the Holy Spirit’s conviction in our lives. This is an extremely dangerous place to come to.

Your life here is so short. It’s only a blink when compared to where you will spend eternity when you die. How you live your life here on earth is the deciding factor on where you will spend eternity. Don’t take your sin lightly. Cut it off and cast it out.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE