The Bottom Line

This morning I’m thinking about besetting sins. These are those habitual acts of disobedience that seemingly are impossible to stop. Sometimes I do something, confess it as sin, then find myself committing the same sin again and again.

The Bible promises that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Why then do I keep repeating the thing when God says my confession results in cleansing?

For a long time I’ve thought the reason is that I haven’t got to the bottom of it. I will confess an action, but didn’t recognize the attitude behind the action. I will confess an attitude, but not go deeply enough to confess my motivation for it, and it is in the area of motivation where I make the most excuses.

My Logos Bible study software has many books and in searching for besetting sins, I found one called Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick. It is about eating disorders and has a great section on the usual excuses made for sin. Here is the list:

My Mama Made Me Do It. This is blaming childhood experiences and how they shaped me. It is often used by criminals who go for softer sentences by claiming they were raised in a dysfunctional home. Christians use this excuse when we feel trapped by our past.

My Computer Has a Virus. This worldly idea says we are mere machines that work on a GIGO principle. Fitzpatrick’s book calls it the carrot-and-stick theory. A donkey will always pull the wagon if the carrot (reward) is big enough (positive reinforcement) or if the stick (punishment) is substantial enough (negative reinforcement). Mixed that with spiritual truth and I think I could conquer sin if I just put my focus on the reward. It does not work.

Help Me, Doctor, I Think I’m Sick. With eating disorders, some say their problems are genetic, or food allergies, or certain chemicals in the brain. While this might be so, the Bible never allows such excuses for disobeying God.

Feel the Force Within You. The book says, “Even some Christians believe that they need to discover their ‘resident inner power’ and then clear the obstructions to this power through visualization, positive declarations, and energy direction.” If I am struggling with some unwanted behavior, it is because I’m “not listening to my inner guidance, and must change my energy through positive declarations.” This is not dependance on God, but idolatry.

The Devil Made Me Do It. Some Christians also believe that besetting sins are directly caused by spirits or demons. This is refusing to take responsibility for sin. It also is refusing to acknowledge that Christ conquered Satan’s power and that He saves us from all sin.

I Don’t Love Myself Enough. The idea here is that if I could just learn to love and accept myself then I would not punish or reward myself in sinful ways. It says I can do this by my own power, another form of idolatry.

It’s Not My Fault. “You are not responsible for your behavior,” is a strong manifesto in our society. But the Bible teaches that one day, “each one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). I cannot use that excuse either.

The verse that prompted this search was from Spurgeon’s devotional for today. He used it to show that David confessed his sin of murder without making excuses.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. (Psalm 51:14)

He called his sin exactly what it was and when he did that, he had grounds to ask God to forgive and cleanse him. With that, I realize that some of my own sin has not been overcome because I’ve failed to recognize and confess their root motivation, or have made excuses like some of those listed in the book about eating disorders.

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Lord, You have opened my eyes again. You remind me that all sin is about inner desires. I want something (even legitimate things) but those desires get out of control as I try to fulfill them in the wrong way. It is just as James 1:14 says, “Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”

These days, lust is associated with sex, but in the Bible lust refers to any strong desire. It can be for food, which is a good thing until it gets out of control and becomes a lust to overeat. It can be a desire to help another person, another good thing until it gets out of control and becomes meddling where I’m not helping at all. It can also be a desire for a repeat blessing, yet instead of waiting on You for that, I try to “make it happen” and wind up disobeying You.

This gives me a great deal to think about and pray about. Thank You. Keep me on the right track. Help me recognize the bottom line when I sin and confess my sin. I know that confession and the blood of Christ wash sin away.  I also know that obedience keeps it from coming back.