When Sin Wins
About a week ago I finished reading a book which had been gifted to Jim and me. Our dear friends, Dale and Lou Ann Rogers, wanted us to read this book because it was about some of their dearest friends and the death of their only son at the hands of a drunk driver. The book is entitled Revenge, Redeemed, and was written by Bob Stewart. I highly recommend it.
Since you might read it one day, I won’t tell you all of the details. However, I will tell you that it caused me to do a great deal of thinking. I thought about the fact that children left to basically raise themselves can enter a lifestyle that may ruin their future and beyond. Even though the book doesn’t cover this, I know that children who are put on a pedestal and are taught that they never do anything wrong are equally damaged and learn to believe that nothing is their fault. They become narcissistic in their thinking, and no matter what wrong they commit, it is always someone else’s fault.
One of the main thoughts I took away from the book was that sin only wins when you ignore God’s Word and assume it doesn’t apply to you. Sin wins in two ways. One way is when you ignore the basic fact that you did wrong. May I plainly say, you excuse yourself (someone else caused you to go down the path of wrong). You are responsible for your actions. You stand alone for what you have done and the lives you have impacted in a negative way.
The second way that sin wins is when you continue sinning. You can look for excuses around every corner, and find people who will agree with you and tell you that “it wasn’t all your fault.” You can continue to try to do some good things, but deep in the mind of a person who says they want to serve God are the facts of what they did – the people you hurt, the family you damaged or destroyed, and the reputation you have.
Sin only wins when we fail to open our hearts to God’s word, turn away from a sinful lifestyle, ask those we’ve damaged to forgive us, and seek God’s forgiveness.
It’s more than just words – words are easy – it’s humbling yourself and asking for strength from God to do what is right according to His word. There are actions involved – stop the sin you are engaging in, seek the path that God wants you on, and live everyday according to His will.
May we all stop letting sin win.
“Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid.” (Romans 6:1-2)
AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
