I may not think that I have an immediate problem just because I entertain a particular sin. The problem with letting that thing linger in my mind is that the more at home it feels, the more of its friends that the sin will invite. The enemy goes from being cast out to being welcomed in, and from being welcomed in to gaining a toehold. A toehold becomes a foothold. A foothold becomes a stronghold.

James speaks of the lust that gives birth to sin and of the death that follows. The writer of Hebrews speaks of an antidote to the deceitfulness of sin. In his letter to the Roman believers, Paul speaks of the ever increasing wickedness that can rule a person’s life.

Sin has a nasty habit of dulling the senses. Just as the leech or mosquito anesthetizes its host, so sin can have a person wallowing in filth but feeling rosy at the moment. The person so inoculated can lead others down a destructive path!

In “The Screwtape Letters,” C.S. Lewis describes the phenomenon of “an ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure.” A sinful thing may have a legitimate counterpart that, when perverted, is sinful. Too much of this perverse thing is never enough, and a person may find himself or herself unable to break free.

Liberty?

What about the person who has found freedom from what once enslaved him or her? A person liberated of an issue must find something good to fill that space where evil once lay. Remember the earlier claim of a sin inviting its friends to play? Consider how evil works behind the scenes in this scenario:

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

Luke 11:24-26

Why do we continue to toy with something that is determined to see our demise? Why do we wait until a monster is full grown, ugly, and out of control before we decide we aren’t interested?

Imagine an invisible sin. A thing that currently hurts no one. A thing that might not even embarrass you if people were to see it within you or upon you.

Imagine the things it could grow into. Imagine the visible, unpleasant things that you think won’t follow that harmless little sin. Imagine how you would enjoy finding out you were wrong, that the hidden became public, that the harmless became devastating, and that the single issue became a tangled web of dysfunction and remorse.

The Wisdoms

There are two types of wisdom operating on this planet. One pulls the veil over your eyes while promising otherwise. The other lifts the veil so you can function as you were created to function. One type rings the dinner bell for evil to feast upon you. The other type rings the alarm to alert you to the evil. Both call out to you. Which will you answer?

The Deception

With practice, the ear gets really good at hearing either the one type of wisdom or the other. A person’s appetite reflects his or her habit of feeding. The heart’s sensitivity (or callousness) reflects the person’s habit of action. The heart can find its course based upon the habit of where one stores treasure.

It is not only words and deeds that affect the will. It is also the treasure! What is our treasure today? It is our time and our money. We must not limit ourselves to speaking to impress (or avoid embarrassment). We must not limit ourselves to hasty actions aimed at quieting our guilt or fear. We must steadily, soberly, systematically invest our money and our time into that direction which we desire our heart to follow.

You may not have a well-designed plan for a particular sin. This does not mean that the sin does not have a well-designed plan for you! Rather than blindly going along with whatever thought “randomly” comes your way, be deliberate about knowing how it lines up with the truth. Learn how to “test the spirit.”

The Real Problem With Entertaining Sin

The real problem with entertaining sin is actually three problems:

• Sin takes you farther than you wanted to go!

• Sin holds you longer than you wanted to stay!

• Sin costs you more than you wanted to pay!

The Solution To Entertaining Sin

The first great step is to begin and to maintain a personal relationship with the one who came to defeat sin and its effects upon humanity. If we could do this on our own, there would have been no need for the shedding of royal blood. Surrender your entire self to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. Accept His rule over you. As a child of God, the Father will give you the Holy Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance! The Holy Spirit will guide you into God’s truth.

The next great step is to develop wisdom by the habit of obeying the Word of God. When tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus had the Spirit of God and the Word of God. We, too, can emerge without succumbing to the accuser’s lures by proper employment of God’s Word and God’s Spirit.

The third tool I wish to highlight is fellowship with other believers. Accountabilty and growth happens in the community of faith. You can download, read, or listen to fantastic sermons online. You can listen to great spiritual music 24 hours a day. You cannot download a friendship. Something uniquely special and powerful happens when believers get together for a holy purpose.

Concerned about making the right move on a decision? Seek wise counsel on the matter. Do not fear embarrassment when your spiritual, physical, financial, or psychological health is at stake.

Fellowship is more important than we may realize! Develop a habit of meeting regularly with a group that can encourage you towards holiness. When the Creator stated that is was not good for the man to be alone, was He only speaking of romance? What is the purpose and function of what Peter refers to as a “royal priesthood“?

In time, the community of faith that remains “in the vine” produces good fruit. Take a look around your community. Do you see signs of a God working through the local body of believers? What more might that body accomplish with the unique way your Creator has made you and gifted you?