And the winner of the copy of Sober Mercies is… Ta Da!..Dana… . Congratulations, Dana. And thank you everyone for submitting your names. I highly recommend you obtain a copy of Sober Mercies.
We’ve talked for several posts about how God works little by little in our sanctification. But there’s another aspect of “little by little.” The BAD! Unfortunately, the concept of small steps isn’t just for our goodness, we can allow little steps of wrong choices measure up and bring big sin. Actually any sin is big but in our world, we tend to think of big or little. But thinking of something wrong as “little” can make us not take it seriously, then we little by little dig ourselves into a big hole.
When we moved into our new home eleven years ago, everything was new, of course, including the beautiful bathroom cabinets. I’m very messy when I wash my face, splashing water all over on the counter. I didn’t realize that I was that messy, though, because water was also splashing onto the front of the cabinet. When I did notice the water on the wood facing, I thought, “Oh, that’s only a few drops, it won’t do anything. Big deal! It’s even too much trouble to wipe off. It’ll be fine.”
Well, you already know where this is going. Eleven years later, there are permanent water spots on the cabinet facing where the wood exterior is peeled away.
Sure, when I recognized damage was beginning, I started wiping the front of the cabinet, and yes, I did also try not to be so messy! But the damage was already done. Now it’ll possibly take a professional to correct the problem. All because I was careless and allowed something little to make a difference–a bad difference.
The road into sin is just as easy. A “little” sin leads into a “big sin.”
- Glancing at the attractive man could lead to fascination.
- Stealing a little paragraph for copying without giving attribution is plagiarism.
- Not reporting income leads to tax problems.
Every time we make a wrong choice, it sets us up for making others.
And even more importantly, God is not being honored or pleased. Even more more important: we are distrusting God and saying that His will for us isn’t loving, good, and generous. We are trying to take care of ourselves–on our terms–for what we should be trusting God for. That’s sinful motives.
Are you welcoming even a “little sin”? Are you trying to convince yourself that a particular choice will just slide by under God’s radar?
Nothing escapes God’s attention. Let’s commit to righteous living in big and little ways.