The anatomy of sin

“But the serpent said to the woman, “you will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.  So when the woman saw the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate.”    Gen 3:4-6

The words flowed from the teacher’s mouth with no pretense as my son stood nearby nonchalantly prepared to depart.  The interaction she described between my child and another in the room seemed surreal.  “If I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes, I would not have believed it. I would have said to the other child, ‘we don’t make up stories about our friends’”, she said.  The behavior she described shocked us with the same level of disbelief.  My child, always ready with a hug, a smile and a willingness to help unprompted and to comfort the hurting, could not be the one you described lobbing punches over a toy.  How did this happen? What did I do? What did I miss?  I asked my son “why” to try to “understand better”.  With a slight quiver in his voice, he explained, the child had a toy he wanted so when he saw it, he took it and in the tug of war he hit the child.  As I read this passage, I see the unfolding of how sin can occur in our lives.  Last time, we talked about what we hear but sometimes sin starts off with what we see.  Let’s explore this further.

Oh be careful little eyes what you see

Last time, we talked about what we hear as a path to a fall.  After looking, she found it desirable which suggests she did not take a passing glance.  She studied it, considered it. She looked it over and closely examined it for any reason to not like it.  We do the same thing on our path to sin.  We look at the temptation in front of us searching for a reason not to proceed in the form of an obvious red flag, stop sign, blemish or wrinkle.  Finding none, we begin to question why can’t we or shouldn’t we.  The longer we examine it and consider it the more likely we are to fall for the trap because we cannot comprehend the no God put in place.  The problem is that our scope is limited.  The stop sign was the clear direction to not do it.  Any other action suggests somehow we know better than God and have determined to take our lives in our own hands.  There will not always be warnings along the way to deter us from going astray so we must be sure to follow the directions we were given from the start.

Proximity

Another issue we face on the way to sin is proximity.  She stood next to the tree.  She could have been anywhere else in the garden but they stood near the one tree they were told to avoid.  The longer we linger near the temptation, the more likely we are to fall into the trap giving it more time to nudge us a little closer down the wrong way.  Our best move is to flee from temptation.  God does not shield us from temptation but He will provide a way out (1Cor 10:13).  Our temptations are fueled from our desires otherwise we would not be tempted (James 1:14).  As we continue our walk with God, our desires begin to shift towards the desires He has for us but our flesh still tries to interject attempting to lead us away from God’s best plan for us.  The longer we linger near the temptation, the harder it becomes to resist. She stood there maybe not for the first time with her husband at her side and maybe after fifth or sixth time of looking at it she stepped a little closer to get a better look until she was captivated in a conversation that fueled the desire she held in her heart.  We cannot underestimate the power of temptation.  We cannot be so bold or proud as to think we will not fall for the trap by continually tempting ourselves with the possibility.  When temptation comes, look for the escape to flee.

Be grateful

My son had a slew of toys to play with but he decided this one was the one he must have. God told them they could not eat from one tree.  They had the pick of a full garden except for the one tree.  The more they stood next to that tree, it must have begun to look like the only tree in the garden.  The questions of what’s so bad about that one must have begun to stir.  Maybe the serpent had observed their behaviors, them circling closer and closer to, finding a way to pass by it just to get a closer look showing the opening to lead to the fall.  Maybe they had begun to find reason to be near it just to satisfy their curiosity of what special qualities the fruit on that tree held.  Similarly, my son changed his behavior and acted uncharacteristically to fill his desire.  Our sins sometimes start not from lack of knowing but from a perceived lack of owning.  We may look at the lives of others and determine we ant that. The whole grass is greener on the other side mentality.  We wonder why we can’t have it and determine there is nothing wrong with wanting it even considering the abundant life God has for us includes it. 

We begin to make decisions seemingly small in nature changing our behavior to orchestrate a path to get it.  The bigger house, faster car, membership in a group or job title for instance all on the surface seem okay so we work harder, shift our focus from the things God has given us like our families, our current position or other responsibilities.  At first, just staying a few minutes late or taking on one more project.  It does not seem like a big deal but it can add up in time giving the devil an opening to wreak havoc in other areas of our lives and before too long we have gone further than we imagined.  The secret to not sinning sometimes lies in being grateful for what we already possess.  The more we focus on what we do not have, the bigger the perceived lack seems.  The bigger that hole feels the easier it is to fill that hole with “rational” thoughts to justify decision making moving us further away from God’s clear direction.

In this season of thankfulness, let us remember to be thankful. The more be focus on those things we can be grateful, the less we are able to be distracted by the things God does not have for us.  By keeping the good God has done in our sights, we magnify Him and what He has given and not anything our flesh determines we must have instead.  Let us not continue to roll over those things we do not have in our heads, taking those thoughts captive and fleeing from them.  Instead replace those, we statement of worship through praise and thanksgiving for what He has already done trusting that what He has kept from us is because He has better in mind for us.

Sow the seed:  The secret to not sinning sometimes lies in being grateful for what we already possess.

Nurture the seed:  “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire”. James 1:14