Do you see it? Sometimes I get to typing too fast. I want to get it down while it’s still fresh, or more often, before I forget it, and so the typos pop up all over—mistyped words, missing words, and recently, a homophone I never caught even after several edits.
Other times, though, I have simply taught myself to type something wrong by doing it that way over and over. “Becuase” is a prime example. I type it wrong nearly every time. Even when I slow down, I type it wrong more often than not. The only thing that will ever help is to make myself type it correctly again and again and again. Guess what? I may type it wrong less often, but it will be a problem forever, something I must actively think about every time the word comes up if I hope to do it correctly--all “becuase” .I have typed it wrong from the beginning.
Sin works that way too. If you train yourself to do things wrong, or if you train yourself not to do things right, you will have that problem for the rest of your life. It isn’t just alcoholics and drug addicts who must fight their problems every day, it’s plain old ordinary sinners too
Have you always used vulgar language? Don’t expect it to clean itself up just because you became a Christian. The words are too ingrained in your mind. Far better to have never placed them there at all.
Have you always given in to anger? Don’t expect to automatically ignore the annoyances of life with a shrug of the shoulders. Instead of learning self-control in the first place, you indulged in throwing a fit over every little thing far too long for it to simply disappear without any effort at all.
Have you been part of the gossip chain for years and years? Don’t expect your ears to stop tingling when a juicy tidbit floats within earshot just because you claim to now believe in Jesus. You will find some way to make excuses for it if you don’t actively make yourself stop.
This is not to discourage you, but to encourage you to work at it and never give up. Things may get easier, but those sins you indulged in regularly will always be a problem. We view sin far too trivially, which is why you hear nonsense like, “Let him sow his wild oats.” Sin will have its effect, even after it has been forgiven, simply from the bad habit of it, if nothing else. Usually, though, there is a something else—like pleasure or a sense of belonging, two things that are difficult to give up.
This is also to encourage those who were brought up to know better to treat that as a blessing instead of a curse. Praise God for your good parents. Don’t throw those blessings away because you think you need to experience things in order to understand them. Don’t start a habit that is hard to break. Sin can be forgiven but the damage cannot be easily undone.
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end, Heb 3:12-14.
Dene Ward
For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar
Other times, though, I have simply taught myself to type something wrong by doing it that way over and over. “Becuase” is a prime example. I type it wrong nearly every time. Even when I slow down, I type it wrong more often than not. The only thing that will ever help is to make myself type it correctly again and again and again. Guess what? I may type it wrong less often, but it will be a problem forever, something I must actively think about every time the word comes up if I hope to do it correctly--all “becuase” .I have typed it wrong from the beginning.
Sin works that way too. If you train yourself to do things wrong, or if you train yourself not to do things right, you will have that problem for the rest of your life. It isn’t just alcoholics and drug addicts who must fight their problems every day, it’s plain old ordinary sinners too
Have you always used vulgar language? Don’t expect it to clean itself up just because you became a Christian. The words are too ingrained in your mind. Far better to have never placed them there at all.
Have you always given in to anger? Don’t expect to automatically ignore the annoyances of life with a shrug of the shoulders. Instead of learning self-control in the first place, you indulged in throwing a fit over every little thing far too long for it to simply disappear without any effort at all.
Have you been part of the gossip chain for years and years? Don’t expect your ears to stop tingling when a juicy tidbit floats within earshot just because you claim to now believe in Jesus. You will find some way to make excuses for it if you don’t actively make yourself stop.
This is not to discourage you, but to encourage you to work at it and never give up. Things may get easier, but those sins you indulged in regularly will always be a problem. We view sin far too trivially, which is why you hear nonsense like, “Let him sow his wild oats.” Sin will have its effect, even after it has been forgiven, simply from the bad habit of it, if nothing else. Usually, though, there is a something else—like pleasure or a sense of belonging, two things that are difficult to give up.
This is also to encourage those who were brought up to know better to treat that as a blessing instead of a curse. Praise God for your good parents. Don’t throw those blessings away because you think you need to experience things in order to understand them. Don’t start a habit that is hard to break. Sin can be forgiven but the damage cannot be easily undone.
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end, Heb 3:12-14.
Dene Ward
For hints, help, and instructions on using this blog, click on the FAQ/Tutorial page on the left sidebar
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