Though not impossible, we are not typically drawn to obvious sins of adultery, swindling, or violence. Instead, we may be inattentive to our spouse's needs, unaffected by debt, or justified in our hateful thoughts toward a brother or sister in Christ. We think those small and petty, when all sin is rooted in the same soil and feeds on the same self-sufficiency.
Rather than mortifying our sin, we can spend all our time distracted by what we think is good "enough":
…when we think we are doing a good job of getting what we want out of life,
…when we think our ungracious response to a spouse is simply “being real,”
…when we find God’s Word useful mostly when we are in need,
…when we think ourselves religious,
…when we crave community more than communion with Him,
…when we pray when convenient,
...when the good life is good enough,
…when others’ approval is all that is needed,
…when we desire His presents more than we do His presence,
…when we look forward to retirement rather than eternity.
How often do the things that were never meant to satisfy take the place of that which was?
You see, what's more dangerous than falling into grave sin is to carelessly fall into sinful patterns that we don't find grave at all.
My biggest struggle today might not be inconsistency with GREAT things; but rather consistency in mediocrity. Is this true for you, too?
Friends, I don’t know any other way to escape complacency but to hold it up to the light of true GREATNESS of Christ. We can yearn for something more or strive for something better unless we know what that IS.
Who that is.
Let's fall heavy upon the truth of God's Word once again today, beholding His worthiness--the grace that frees us from all striving AND gives us everything to strive for.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
-C.S. Lewis, The Weight Of Glory
Because of grace,
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