Here are some recent news headlines:
“pardoned Mississippi killer says he wasn’t on the run,”
“teen sues family over alleged abortion threat,”
“doctors cheated on medical certification exams,”
“crew in disaster, “like Marx brothers,” passengers says.”
We need a better way of thinking. And when I say “we,” I mean everybody. You your friends, your relatives. This is what I’m getting at: Why do we look at the news each day? To judge the sinners and praise those who have won a prize for working hard? From all of these abstract news stories, each with its own twist (angle) and details how do we have standards for right or wrong? Are we not all sinners? Aren’t there people out there who, day to day, do great things and aren’t even recognized for doing them?
I want to talk about sin today. The new year has passed and maybe you have turned over a new leaf. Say you sinned in 2011, you did some horrible things. And you don’t want to discuss them with anybody because they are in the past. It’s a new year. Since 2 weeks ago, you’ve changed. Maybe you haven’t really thought about sin, you’ve just done whatever you wanted since the first of the year. I want to share a statement with you. Here is the statement; sin is wrong. I need to take this in everyday and you do to. It’s a reality.
Each day we sin. Some days we do it in certain ways, on other days in other ways. Now when I say “sin is wrong,” do I mean, “some sin is wrong but other sin is permissible?” No! That is, all sin is wrong! Many times I am tempted to sin and the bible tells me I can expect to be, “my son, if sinners entice you do not consent.” (proverbs 2:10) I love that this is such a simple piece of wisdom, but that it is also so easy to understand and must be obeyed. If you are tempted to sin, restrain yourself from the urge! Let me take this a step further. Though don’t simply restrain yourself from sin. That is not the lesson here. The lesson is not to restrain yourself from sinful temptations but to do what GOD calls you to do.
If your job is to teach students, you have the responsibility of being an effective teacher. Say you are a wide reciever on a football team. You must listen to your coach and practice day after day so you become good at catching the ball. When it’s game time, you want to be a player on a winning team. If you are a professional musician, you have to play the music in front of you the best way it can be played. Each one of these professions call for hard work on behalf of the teacher, player or performer. It takes practice, it takes patience. And though accomplishing something is hard, the LORD gives us patience and the ability to practice. I’m thankful for this wisdom.
SDG,
~Riley
