Avoiding the self-inflicted pain of sin
August 5
(B)ut each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. - James 1:14-15
A number of years ago, a play was written called The Potato Creek Chair of Death. This was a rather bizarre theatrical work about a man who built a timing device he attached to a shotgun. The timer was set to go off at some point in the next hundred years. In front of the gun, a chair was placed where people who wanted to test their luck could sit for a minute at a time.
In the play, thrill seekers came from hundreds of miles around to have their minute in the chair and sit in the shell’s path. They all knew the gun could go off at any time, but they were gambling that it wouldn’t be during their minute in the chair.
Most people in real life probably wouldn’t dream of sitting in that chair. Yet, many of those very same people live their entire lives gambling that they can get away with sin, foolishly ignoring the risks of the inevitable self-destruction that sin ultimately brings.
Spiritually speaking, sitting in that chair is exactly what gambling with sin is like. And eventually, that sin will come back to bite and can even destroy you.
Don’t gamble with sin. Steer clear of sinful patterns of behavior and you’ll be able to live free from the self-inflicted pain, anguish, and destruction it will bring in your life.
Prayer Challenge
Pray that God would open your eyes to any sinful patterns of behavior He wants to cleanse in your life for your good and His glory.
Questions for Thought
How have you seen the self-destructive nature of sin in your life or the lives of others?
What might be a sin pattern in your life today that God wants you to give over to Him?
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